Pre-Columbian, Central Mexico, ca. 200 to 600 CE. An impressive stone mask of a characteristic angular form with boldly delineated facial features, carved from a greenstone of stunning pale green hues with blush pink undertones from the sacred city of Teotihuacan ("the place were the gods were created"), at one time the largest city in the Pre-Columbian world, famous for its pyramids (Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon) as well as the Great Compound with the Temple of Quetzalcoatl (aka Temple of the Plumed Serpent) punctuating the Avenue of the Dead. Stone masks like this example are perhaps the best known works of Teotihuacan art. According to scholars, they are believed to have been part of funerary furniture; however, no masks have been found in burial chambers. Instead, archaeologists have discovered them in the vecinity of temples and complexes along the Avenue of the Dead. Some speculate that they may have been attached to wooden armatures in temples to represent deities on their journey to achieving god-hood. Perforation at top center for suspension. Custom, museum-quality stand. Size: 4.75" W x 6" H (12.1 cm x 15.2 cm); 7.5" H (19.1 cm) on stand.

Provenance: Ex-Peter Arnovick collection, San Francisco, CA

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