Pre-Columbian, southern Peru, Huari (Wari) culture, ca. 600 to 900 CE. A beautiful example of a hand-carved wooden mummy mask of a rounded rectangular form. The mask bears an awe-struck countenance formed with white-painted, almond-shaped eyes with dark brown pupils that bulge from the face and flank a relatively veristic nose. The parted lips reveal a singular line of white teeth beneath an indented philtrum, with rounded cheeks, a protruding chin, and a smooth brow completing the guise. The unpainted forehead suggests it was wrapped with a textile headband at one time. This wooden mask was perhaps attached to the front of a mummy bundle which would have contained the cremated remains of a once-living individual. Size: 4.125" W x 7.2" H (10.5 cm x 18.3 cm)
Display stand shown in photos is for photography purposes only.
Provenance: ex-Ashland University Museum, Ashland, Ohio, USA, donated to Ashland University between July 1994 to December 1998
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.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance),
we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
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.
#165819
Condition
Original textile headband missing as shown. Chips and nicks to nose, chin, philtrum, brow, peripheries, and verso, with light encrustations, inactive insect damage, and light fading to pigmentation, otherwise intact and very good. Nice preservation to overall form and expression of face.