The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Mouth Mask

Mouth Mask

100 BCE–700 CE
Location: 232 Andean

Description

Nasca figures, like one on a bowl nearby, are shown wearing such forehead ornaments and mouth masks similar to these. The mouth mask hung from the nasal septum, the oval opening surrounding the mouth and the bristles positioned as feline whiskers, here transformed to serpents. Both were cut from sheet gold; details were worked freehand while the sheet rested on a soft surface.
  • Kathman, Barbara A. A Cleveland Bestiary. Cleveland, OH; Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981. Reproduced: p. 47; Mentioned: p. 46, p. 62
  • New York NY: Americas Society Art Gallery; September 15-December 31, 1991: Masks of the Americas." cat.no. 9, p. 20.
    A Cleveland Bestiary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 15-December 16, 1981).
    Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; October 14-December 9, 1981: "A Cleveland Bestiary." cat. no. 41, repr. p. 47.
    Treasures of Peruvian Gold. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 23-April 3, 1966).
    Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 23 - April 3, 1966. "Treasures of Peruvian Gold."
    Art of the Americas. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 9, 1945-January 6, 1946).
    Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; November 9, 1945 - January 6, 1946. "Art of the Americas."
  • {{cite web|title=Mouth Mask|url=false|author=|year=100 BCE–700 CE|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1945.377