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Sicán Gold Face Mask

Currency:USD Category:Art Start Price:2,500.00 USD Estimated At:10,000.00 - 15,000.00 USD
Sicán Gold Face Mask
<B>Face Mask</B></I><BR>Sicán<BR>A.D. 700 - 1100<BR>Gold, red pigment<BR>Height 8 1/2 in. Width 12 1/2 in.<BR><BR>This gold face mask is of the kind most frequently found in Sicán sites. The masks were conceived to have convexly-flexed facial areas with flattened ear flanges. The eye, and possibly ear spool, areas would have had attached pieces covered with a mosaic of iridescent hummingbird feathers (Junius Bird, personal communication). At some point in its funerary role the present mask was repeatedly folded for ritual reasons, resulting in the series of vertical creases, with a few crack lines, visible today. The mask had been covered with red pigment in the traditional manner which left the mouth and chin area bare. During recent restoration a considerable amount of repigmentation was done. Danglers are ranged along the ear flanges, with some now missing. There are numerous small crack areas on the mask.<BR><BR>Provenance<BR>Bonhams & Butterfields, San Fransisco: sale 7546E, 14 June 2004, lot 1069, p. 23<BR><BR> <BR><BR><B>Important