1040

Mexican Huichol Beaded Mask

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:30.00 USD Estimated At:40.00 - 50.00 USD
Mexican Huichol Beaded Mask
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Mexican Huichol Beaded Mask. This mask is carved wood with hundreds of beads hand applied in colorful designs. It measures 7.5''H x 4.25''W and is 2'' deep. Very few beads are missing. The Huichol people live in the states of Jalisco and Nayarit in Mexico. Their art broadly groups the most traditional and most recent innovations in the folk art and handcrafts. The unifying factor of the work is the colorful decoration using symbols and designs which date back centuries. The most common and commercial successful products are ''yarn paintings'' and objects decorated with small commercially produced beads. The Huichol have a long history of beading, making the beads from clay, shells, corals, seeds and more and using them to make jewelry and to decorate bowls and other items. The ''modern'' beadwork usually consists of masks and wood sculptures covered in small, brightly colored commercial beads fastened with wax and resin. While the materials have changed and the purpose of many of the items have changed from religious to commercial purposes, the designs have changed little and many retain their religious and symbolic significance. Most outsiders experience with Huichol art is as tourists in areas such as Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta without knowing anything about who makes the items and the meanings of the designs.