Artwork Page for Mouth Mask

Details / Information for Mouth Mask

Mouth Mask

100 BCE–700 CE

Peru, South Coast, Nasca

Medium
hammered gold alloy
Measurements
Overall: 14 x 19.4 cm (5 1/2 x 7 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1945.377
Public Domain
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Location
232 Andean
Print

Description

Nasca figures, like one on a bowl nearby, are shown wearing such forehead ornaments and mouth masks similar to these. The mouth mask hung from the nasal septum, the oval opening surrounding the mouth and the bristles positioned as feline whiskers, here transformed to serpents. Both were cut from sheet gold; details were worked freehand while the sheet rested on a soft surface.
A gold alloy mouth mask features a central crescent with a circular cutout and a scalloped base accented by raised bumps. Fanning out from the top, four strips on either side terminate in small snake heads. Two hooked shapes also tipped with heads curve inward toward the center. The yellow metal is marked with a mottled reddish-brown patina.

Mouth Mask

100 BCE–700 CE

Peru, South Coast, Nasca

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