Gold Funerary Mask in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 2018

Funerary Mask
10th–12th century


Object Details

Date: 10th–12th century

Geography: Peru, North Coast

Culture: Lambayeque (Sicán)

Medium: Gold, silver-copper overlays, cinnabar

Dimensions: H. 11 1/2 in. × W. 19 1/2 in. × D. 4 in. (29.2 × 49.5 × 10.2 cm)

Classification: Metal-Sculpture

Credit Line: Gift and Bequest of Alice K. Bache, 1974, 1977

Accession Number: 1974.271.35


Around A.D. 1000, high-status tombs were constructed at Batán Grande, a site now called the Sicán Archaeological Precinct, where a single burial could include as many as five masks: one attached to the head and the others stacked at the feet. Cinnabar, a red mineral pigment, covers much of this example’s cheeks and forehead, emulating face paint. The textile-like design of this crown was achieved by delicately hammering from the reverse (repoussé). Metalsmiths in the central Andes preferred working with metal sheet rather than casting, and the sheet was often manipulated as if it were cloth—a medium of far greater antiquity and ritual importance.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/309959