Huari Painted Wood Mask w/ Shell Inlay Eyes

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Warehouse Clear Out - Ancient & Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Dec 20, 2018

Set Reminder 2018-12-20 10:00:00 2018-12-20 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Warehouse Clear Out - Ancient & Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/warehouse-clear-out---ancient-ethnographic-3742
Time to clear out the warehouse, as these lots are going, going, gone... plus a we've added a nice selection of lots brand-new to auction! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  **Originally Listed At $800**
  
  Pre-Columbian, Central Coast of Peru, Huari / Wari, ca. 700 to 1000 CE. A dramatic mask with an expressive face carved with bold facial features including pronounced cheeks, an open mouth, and a protruding nose - all below a broad forehead with circular motifs incised on top that perhaps represent curls. The visage's large eyes are inlaid with white shell and black stone; the complexion is painted with red pigment; and the long neck incised with concentric circle motifs similar to those on top of the head. Huari visual culture is an understudied field; hence it is difficult to decipher the precise meaning or identity of this image. The subject may represent a living person of rank, an honorary portrayal of a deceased person used to accompany a mummy bundle, or an ancestor. Ancestor veneration would become a significant part of Inca religious practice and was most likely important to earlier cultures as well. The wide-eyed expression is similar to visages depicted on Huari ceramic vessels. Custom, museum quality stand included. Size: 12.5" H (31.8 cm); 13.25" H (33.7 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  The Huari culture, centered on a capital to the south of Moche territory in the central highlands of Peru, rose as the Moche culture fell apart and before the Chimu asserted themselves on the north coast. They had extensive contact with other regions in the Andes, most notably the Tiahuanaco in present-day Bolivia, and the Nazca and the Pachacamac on the south and central coast of Peru. Hence there is no homogenous Huari style. Instead we see a wide range of visual expressions in their wood carvings and ceramics.
  
  Provenance: ex-private California, USA collection, acquired from Pat Woolsey in the mid 1960s to early 1970s
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #138610

  Condition

  Normal age cracks and surface wear with scuffs and abrasions commensurate with age. Inlays are in very good condition with white shell intact and normal surface wear to black stone.
• Shipping Info

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