Pre-Columbian, north coast of Peru, Sican/Lambayeque culture, ca. 10th to 11th century CE. An incredible mask made of hammered copper, with small pierced holes around the edges for affixing it. Twelve trapezoidal copper sheets hang from the face - most around its edges, with two underneath the eyes and two, larger than the others, from the nostrils. The eyes are bulbous, applied half-spheres, with the remains of a finely woven textile on them. White, mineral-based pigment covers much of the face, leaving the eyes and ears exposed. The nose is long and projects outward from the face. There is no mouth. The hanging items below the eyes are a common style from Sican, a look that has been variously interpreted as tears or a magical/enhanced ability to see. Size: 11.85" W x 8.7" H (30.1 cm x 22.1 cm); 12.5" H (31.8 cm) on included custom stand.

This mask was made to adorn the body of a deceased elite member of the Sican society - gold was for lords, silver for noble women, and copper for wealthy commoners. The face seems to not represent an individual, but instead a stylized Deity, as all of the known masks from the region follow a very similar template. In this way, the deceased could assume a godly identity. Sican elites were patrons of workshops that made fine metal objects like this one, and they took their wealth with them when they died. Buried in mounds, they would be entombed in high style. At the site of Batan Grande, a single burial could include up to five masks - one on the head, and the others at the feet. These masks were placed into graves alongside headdresses, scepters, crowns, ceremonial weapons, and even sometimes wooden litters for bearing the deceased.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex Eugene Lions, Geneva, Switzerland

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#132543

Slight bending to form, especially on the lower left side (facing). Pigment on face is nicely preserved and it is rare to have all of the dangling attachments present as they are here.