Royal mask, Peru, Moche culture, phase II, ca. 300-400 AD.
This royal mask is among the most spectacular relics from the Moche culture of pre-Columbian Peru. Between the first and eighth century, the Moche created an oasis culture with a capital situated directly on the Pacific coastline. This city included the two largest buildings ever erected in Indian America: the Sun and Moon Pyramids. Both served as platforms for collective fertility ceremonies. The royal mask was found in the Moon Pyramid in 1911 together with a fox head and a second mask. It belonged to one of the earliest sacred kings of the Moche culture (ca. third century AD). >>Royal mask; Gold and copper alloy, 'Tumbaga', embossed over a mould, shell inlay;
h 26 cm, w 21 cm.
Acc.no. 119156.
Photo: A. Dreyer.