Images(2)

Funerary Mask

Artist Unknown

Datecirca 1000–1534

MediumGold alloy with blue-green stone inlay and trace of red paint

Dimensionsheight, width, and depth: 6 5/8 x 9 x 1 in. (16.8 x 22.9 x 2.5 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of Refford and Charlotte W. Cate

Object number91.16.9

On View

On view

Label Text
This funerary mask was sewn onto a mummy bundle to represent the face of the deceased who was wrapped inside the bundle. The face resembles that of Naymlap, culture hero and mythological founder of the ruling dynasty of the Sicán people, as seen on the ceremonial gold drinking vessel exhibited nearby. The same style of facial representation persists in North Coast art during subsequent years when the Chimú people dominated the region.
The Sicán people and their southern neighbors, the Chimú, are renowned for their technical skills in working precious metals and for the great quantities and varieties of objects made from silver and gold.
Published ReferencesL. E. [Lisa Eveleigh], "Private Collectors Share Their Art," North Carolina Museum of Art Preview (Autumn 1992), mentioned 13.

North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection," (Raleigh, NC; North Carolina Museum of Art, 2024), illus. (color) 157.Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Faces of Eternity: Masks of the Pre-Columbian Americas," May 16-August 30, 1992.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Becoming the NCMA: 10 Decades of Collecting, 1924-2022," June 11-August 21, 2022.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement

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