Pre-Columbian, Northwest Argentina, Condorhuasi-Alamito culture, Early Period, ca. 200 BCE to 500 CE. An incredible funerary mask hand-carved from a large stone into a life-sized anthropomorphic visage of a minimalistic form. The brow and nose are formed by a raised T-shaped ridge, and 3 drilled holes for eyes and mouth. The mouth has a rounded rim as if the lips are pursed or puckered up to breathe or whistle. The back of the mask is slightly concave, and 9 holes are drilled through the upper periphery for attaching decorative materials like feathers or gold or to secure the mask to a burial shroud. Stone masks created by the Alamito are believed to have been funerary or even ritualist healing masks, the pursed lips were "life giving" blowing life into dead matter. Size: 7.25" L x 2" W x 9.5" H (18.4 cm x 5.1 cm x 24.1 cm); 13.5" H (34.3 cm) on included custom stand.

This culture is from the Hualfin Valley in the Catamarca province of Argentina, although it seems to have had cultural influence or at least trading connections both north and south. The landscape was semi-arid and high altitude, similar to that of the American Southwest. The people of the region were llama pastoralists who created artwork in ceramic, metal, and stone, often with repeated themes - for example, masks made of lapis lazuli and copper have been found that look nearly identical in form to this one. Masks like this one were deposited into graves that were buried in the patios or inside the rooms of small houses in villages or, in some areas of the Hualfin Valley, segregated cemeteries. They seem to represent idealized images of the deceased.

Cf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 2016.734.5

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection, 1995 to 2010; ex-private T. Misenhimer collection, Beverly Hills, California, USA, collected from 1970 to 2008

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#171742

Shallow surface fissures on verso. Minor nicks and abrasions, otherwise intact and excellent. Great preservation to face.