Mask Item Number: Sf567 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
A gold-coloured sheet metal mask with embossed facial features and twelve snakes curving outward from the top and sides of the head. The eyes are concentric circles, the mouth has bared teeth and the nose is slab-like. Four small holes near the centre.
History Of Use
Sheet gold face masks, as well as whisker and headdress ornaments, are part of the 'Trophy Head Cult' a new religion introduced into the south coast in the late stages of the Early Horizon period and bringing with it new, non-Chavinoid cultural elements. Embroideries representing the ornaments are generally curvilinear in style although gold ornaments are found in association with both Paracas and Nazca ceramics.
Narrative
A similar face mask when metallographically tested was found to be 87% gold, 10% silver and 3% copper (root).
Iconographic Meaning
The rays may be associated with the sun. Each ray is treated metaphorically as a serpent.
Item History
What
- Name
- Mask
- Identification Number
- Sf567
- Type of Item
- mask
- Material
- gold metal, copper metal and silver metal
- Manufacturing Technique
- hammered and embossed
- Overall
- height 18.0 cm, width 22.2 cm, depth 1.7 cm
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- Peru
When
- Creation Date
- between 301 BCE and 101 BCE
- Collection Date
- between 1949 and 1966
- Ownership Date
- before May 4, 1981
- Acquisition Date
- on May 4, 1981
Other
- Item Classes
- metalwork
- Condition
- poor
- Accession Number
- 0711/0069