Silver maskette, 10th -11th century AD

---

Description

base

This maskette was found in the northern part of the Perm Cis-Urals, most likely in the Cherdynsky District.

It is published in the anniversary issue of Tribal Art magazine in an article by Ron Bronckers, “Masks of the Evenki and Magyar” (Tribal XXV:3-No.100, Summer 2021, p. 79, Fig. 13).

Bronckers assumes that the silver plaque was originally conceived as a plain pendant (“sun disk”), adorned only by a series of repoussé dots along the rim (cf. Margolis, p. 88). As needed, the plaque was modified. Human facial features were incorporated so that the silver plaque could be used in the cult of the dead. Bronckers refers to the tradition of placing silver plaques on the eyes of the dead instead of death masks.

---

Comparing literature

Margolis, Richard, Ancient Bronze Art and Ethnographic Objects from Siberia and the Urals, Seattle 2023, p. 88

---

Publications

Ron Bronckers, "Masks of the Evenki and Magyar - New Connections", p. 79, Fig. 13, in Tribal XXV:3-Number 100, Summer 2021, p. 72-81

---