Lot 73
Pre-Columbian, Central Coast Peru, Chancay culture, ca. 800 to 1200 CE. A beautiful example of a mummy bundle mask that is hand-carved from wood. The ovoid, pink-red visage exhibits enormous, white-painted eyes with dark brown pupils, a relatively naturalistic nose above pursed lips, a masculine chin with a petite central dimple, and tall cheeks. The unpainted forehead is covered with an attached camelid fiber textile panel, and the verso is slightly concave. Masks like this example were placed over textile "mummy bundles" which held cremated remains, but they could also be placed over the faces of deceased individuals whose corporeal forms were still recognizable to the living. Size: 4.1" W x 6.875" H (10.4 cm x 17.5 cm); 9.6" H (24.4 cm) on included custom stand.
Chancay wood carvings are best known for their simple forms and sober visages. The Chancay artisans used wood found in their coastal deserts to create tools for sophisticated textile work, decorative objects, masks, and statues. Human heads, like the one featured in this example, were oftentimes placed upon the mummies of important individuals as a mark of their elite status as a deity or ancestor - an identity bestowed upon these important individuals after death.
Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Ashland University Museum, Ashland, Ohio, USA, donated to the Ashland Museum between July 1994 and December 1998
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Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
#169723
- Condition: Textile wrap and face mask are likely not original to one another, but both are still ancient and from the Chancay culture. Chips and nicks to face, verso, and peripheries, with several stable lateral hairline fissures commensurate with age, fading to pigments on face, and expected desiccation to textile panel. Nice preservation to presentation of face.
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