** A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this lot will benefit The Fowler Museum at UCLA **

Latin America, Ecuador, Imbabura, ca. mid 20th century CE. A hooded Diabolo-Umo or Devil’s Head mask traditionally worn by dancers during the Inti Rymi summer solstice celebration sewed from grey-green cotton denim with colorful embroidered faces on both the front and back, each with a protruding tubular nose, each with embroidered facial features in royal blue, golden yellow, grass green, azure blue, and orange, one side with additional embroidered botanical elements, the other with a bird and an animal with pointy ears and a tail in addition to the flora. Both faces also possess openwork eyes and mouths and crossed banderas (flags) just beneath each mouth. A pair of ears made from cloth tubular tasseled forms similar to the 'noses' are shared by both visages. Adding to the mask's design are fourteen embroidered and fringed tassels on the bottom (seven on each side) and twelve cloth tubes rising from the top of the head cloth hood mask. Masks like this example are made to slip over the head. They have two sides so that the dancer will never be caught off guard or surprised by the devil. The celebration involves energetic dancing that begins the night of the summer solstice and continues until the dancers drop to the ground from utter exhaustion. They are then revived with a bit of rest and liquid refreshments, so that the dancing may continue. While carved wood masks are oftentimes sold to tourists, this is rarely the case for Diablo Umos; hence they are difficult for collectors to find. A rare example! Size: 15.5" W x 27" H (39.4 cm x 68.6 cm)

Provenance: Ex-private Morgan collection, Santa Monica, CA.

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#115053

Some minor fading and a few tubular elements may be missing from the top end. Most stitching intact, just a few loose threads.