Description:

Pre-Columbian, Central Coast Peru, Chancay culture, ca. 1000 CE. This charming wood mask boasts brilliant red cinnabar coloring and a vibrant textile turbante. Textiles are probably the best known of the Chancay culture's artistic creations. The wonderful headdress on this mask features intricate embroidery and an array of colors - red, gold, and chocolate brown. Textiles were oftentimes made for magical or religious purposes. Headdresses in particular were imbued with spiritual properties. According to scholarship, threads were spun in the form of an S-shape in anticlockwise direction. This thread according to cultural lore possessed a magical quality called lloque which was believed to provide protection in the+C13 afterlife. Custom, museum-quality stand included. 10"H x 10"W at widest point x 3-1/8"D at deepest point

Provenance: Ex-Eugene Lions Collection, Switzerland, collected 1950s-1960s.

All items in this auction are legal to buy/sell under U.S. statute covering cultural patrimony per United States Code 2600, CHAPTER 14 -- CONVENTION ON CULTURAL PROPERTY, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

  • Condition: Slight surface wear and loss to eyes on mask. Slight fading and fraying of end of turbante - not visible from front side. Mask and textile intact and appears excellent to near choice.

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Shipping

Auction House will ship, at Buyer's expense

June 13, 2014 9:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,000
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $25,000