Handle mask from a funeral bundle ·  Peru, Chancay · ID: 3038544

Description

light weighted wood (balsa tree?), remains of red pigment (haematite), eyes inlaid with sea shells, of quadrangular shape with protruding nose, strong traces of weathering, cracks, custom mount;
such heads were buried with the deceased to transform them into a communal ancestor. They may be carved from wook like masks or may be hammered and embossed from metal like gold, silver or copper. But they could just as well consist of textile wrapping filled with raw cotton and straw, with the facial features painted or applicated

The object Handle mask from a funeral bundle with the object ID 3038544 was last part of the auction 80th Tribal Art Auction at June 27, 2015 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 136 achieved a sales price of EUR 2,400.

You can find more Masks and other popular object types on our related topic pages. You may also be interested in our page on American art and Pre-columbian art.

Comparing literature

Hoffmann, Ulrich (Hg.), Frauen des alten Amerika in Kult und Alltag, Stuttgart 2001, p. 134 Purini, Sergio & André Emmerich, La sculpture en bois dans l'ancien Pérou, Paris 2006, p. 106 ff.