Human Face Mask
Date
600-300 BCE
Creator
Location
Raclin Murphy Museum of Art
This elegantly stylized mask renders the human face in a very simple and profound manner[--]a T-shaped nose and brow flanked by two circular eyes with a circular mouth below. Bold brow and nose ridges are balanced by smooth facial planes and subtly rendered eye holes that appear hollow and sunken as they taper down to pierce the interior. The mouth takes the same form as the eyes but has a slight ridge around it that defines the lips. The total effect is a gaunt face of powerful intensity that is composed of very basic elements. A duality image was created by carefully removing enough dark stone to reveal a cream streak that divides the face down the middle and heightens the impact of the composition. Duality is one of the foundations of Andean religions, but the exact function of tis mask remains a mystery. Long years of wear have polished the interior rim and elongated the holes used to attach the mask to a harness or costume that probably covered the lower face of the wearer. This usage produced a sheen that even two thousand years in the ground could not destroy. from O'Grady, Myth & Melancholy: The Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. O'Grady Collection of Southern Cone Art (Notre Dame, 2014)
![This elegantly stylized mask renders the human face in a very simple and profound manner[--]a T-shaped nose and brow flanked by two circular eyes with a circular mouth below. Bold brow and nose ridges are balanced by smooth facial planes and subtly rendered eye holes that appear hollow and sunken as they taper down to pierce the interior. The mouth takes the same form as the eyes but has a slight ridge around it that defines the lips. The total effect is a gaunt face of powerful intensity that is composed of very basic elements.
A duality image was created by carefully removing enough dark stone to reveal a cream streak that divides the face down the middle and heightens the impact of the composition. Duality is one of the foundations of Andean religions, but the exact function of tis mask remains a mystery. Long years of wear have polished the interior rim and elongated the holes used to attach the mask to a harness or costume that probably covered the lower face of the wearer. This usage produced a sheen that even two thousand years in the ground could not destroy.
from O'Grady, Myth & Melancholy: The Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. O'Grady Collection of Southern Cone Art (Notre Dame, 2014)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fiiif-image.library.nd.edu%2Fiiif%2F2%2F2006.065%2F2006_065-v0002%2Ffull%2Ffull%2F0%2Fdefault.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
![This elegantly stylized mask renders the human face in a very simple and profound manner[--]a T-shaped nose and brow flanked by two circular eyes with a circular mouth below. Bold brow and nose ridges are balanced by smooth facial planes and subtly rendered eye holes that appear hollow and sunken as they taper down to pierce the interior. The mouth takes the same form as the eyes but has a slight ridge around it that defines the lips. The total effect is a gaunt face of powerful intensity that is composed of very basic elements.
A duality image was created by carefully removing enough dark stone to reveal a cream streak that divides the face down the middle and heightens the impact of the composition. Duality is one of the foundations of Andean religions, but the exact function of tis mask remains a mystery. Long years of wear have polished the interior rim and elongated the holes used to attach the mask to a harness or costume that probably covered the lower face of the wearer. This usage produced a sheen that even two thousand years in the ground could not destroy.
from O'Grady, Myth & Melancholy: The Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. O'Grady Collection of Southern Cone Art (Notre Dame, 2014)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fiiif-image.library.nd.edu%2Fiiif%2F2%2F2006.065%2F2006_065-v0001%2Ffull%2Ffull%2F0%2Fdefault.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
![This elegantly stylized mask renders the human face in a very simple and profound manner[--]a T-shaped nose and brow flanked by two circular eyes with a circular mouth below. Bold brow and nose ridges are balanced by smooth facial planes and subtly rendered eye holes that appear hollow and sunken as they taper down to pierce the interior. The mouth takes the same form as the eyes but has a slight ridge around it that defines the lips. The total effect is a gaunt face of powerful intensity that is composed of very basic elements.
A duality image was created by carefully removing enough dark stone to reveal a cream streak that divides the face down the middle and heightens the impact of the composition. Duality is one of the foundations of Andean religions, but the exact function of tis mask remains a mystery. Long years of wear have polished the interior rim and elongated the holes used to attach the mask to a harness or costume that probably covered the lower face of the wearer. This usage produced a sheen that even two thousand years in the ground could not destroy.
from O'Grady, Myth & Melancholy: The Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. O'Grady Collection of Southern Cone Art (Notre Dame, 2014)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fiiif-image.library.nd.edu%2Fiiif%2F2%2F2006.065%2F2006_065-v0003%2Ffull%2Ffull%2F0%2Fdefault.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
![This elegantly stylized mask renders the human face in a very simple and profound manner[--]a T-shaped nose and brow flanked by two circular eyes with a circular mouth below. Bold brow and nose ridges are balanced by smooth facial planes and subtly rendered eye holes that appear hollow and sunken as they taper down to pierce the interior. The mouth takes the same form as the eyes but has a slight ridge around it that defines the lips. The total effect is a gaunt face of powerful intensity that is composed of very basic elements.
A duality image was created by carefully removing enough dark stone to reveal a cream streak that divides the face down the middle and heightens the impact of the composition. Duality is one of the foundations of Andean religions, but the exact function of tis mask remains a mystery. Long years of wear have polished the interior rim and elongated the holes used to attach the mask to a harness or costume that probably covered the lower face of the wearer. This usage produced a sheen that even two thousand years in the ground could not destroy.
from O'Grady, Myth & Melancholy: The Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. O'Grady Collection of Southern Cone Art (Notre Dame, 2014)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fiiif-image.library.nd.edu%2Fiiif%2F2%2F2006.065%2F2006_065-v0004%2Ffull%2Ffull%2F0%2Fdefault.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
![This elegantly stylized mask renders the human face in a very simple and profound manner[--]a T-shaped nose and brow flanked by two circular eyes with a circular mouth below. Bold brow and nose ridges are balanced by smooth facial planes and subtly rendered eye holes that appear hollow and sunken as they taper down to pierce the interior. The mouth takes the same form as the eyes but has a slight ridge around it that defines the lips. The total effect is a gaunt face of powerful intensity that is composed of very basic elements.
A duality image was created by carefully removing enough dark stone to reveal a cream streak that divides the face down the middle and heightens the impact of the composition. Duality is one of the foundations of Andean religions, but the exact function of tis mask remains a mystery. Long years of wear have polished the interior rim and elongated the holes used to attach the mask to a harness or costume that probably covered the lower face of the wearer. This usage produced a sheen that even two thousand years in the ground could not destroy.
from O'Grady, Myth & Melancholy: The Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. O'Grady Collection of Southern Cone Art (Notre Dame, 2014)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fiiif-image.library.nd.edu%2Fiiif%2F2%2F2006.065%2F2006_065-v0005%2Ffull%2Ffull%2F0%2Fdefault.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.