Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche, ca. 100 to 400 CE. A beautiful, hand-built pottery mask depicting a male countenance of a stylized form. The highly burnished visage exhibits ovoid, white-painted eyes with brown pupils, a slender nose with gently flared nostrils, a thin mouth flanked by diagonal nasolabial folds, and puffy cheeks adorned with vertical rectangular panels of triangles arranged in a pinwheel formation. The incised ears bear large circular gaps indicative of being adorned at one time with decorative ear spools, and the broad forehead brim is lined with several perforations meant for additional ornamentation. The russet-hued face imbues the mask with a naturalistic skin tone that alludes to how the Mochica would have looked when still alive. Size: 8.75" W x 6.5" H (22.2 cm x 16.5 cm); 11.7" H (29.7 cm) on included custom stand.

This mask is likely a portrait of an important member of Moche society depicted as a young man. The Moche are known for their portrait vessels portraying the same individual at different stages of life, but terracotta masks are less common. One cannot help but wonder whom this mask was intended to represent.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private Hans Juergen Westermann collection, Germany, collected from 1950 to the 1960s

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#157114

Repairs and restoration to areas of right ear and eye, right temple, and left side of nose, with nearly invisible resurfacing and overpainting along new material and break lines. Minor abrasions to face, nose, brim, ears, and verso, with light fading to areas of original pigmentation across face, and a few small excisions along ears and verso. Great remains of original pigment and light earthen deposits throughout. Old inventory label in bottom of verso.