Mummy Bundle "Mask"

200–1 BCE
Overall: 66 x 20.9 x 3.8 cm (26 x 8 1/4 x 1 1/2 in.)
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Location: not on view

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These masks fall into two categories, those with only a face and those with a full-bodied figure.

Description

This mummy bundle was likely found on mummy bundles made of a seated human body carefully wrapped in textiles. In some instances, the Paracas people placed a painted cloth like these at the top of the bundle. The cloth was padded on the back so it curved outward like a face, and the tress-like yarns (unwoven warps) at the upper edge were arranged around a solid cotton disk that, in turn, was wrapped with a headband (see photo). The cloths, then, seem to have functioned as the bundle’s face or mask.
Mummy Bundle "Mask"

Mummy Bundle "Mask"

200–1 BCE

Peru, South Coast, Ica Valley, Ocucaje site, Paracas style (700 BCE–1 CE)

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