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Mask

500 BCE–300 CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 360
Ceramic masks are known from many parts of the Precolumbian world, and the current example is characteristic of a type found in the hot, humid coastal region of northern Ecuador and southern Colombia. The almost impish face has wide eyes with pupils gazing left. The nostrils are flared and the cheeks puffed, and deep grooves lend the face vitality and volume. Holes in the modeled earlobes and one in the septum once held ornaments, perhaps of gold. On the forehead is an unusual raised, coffeebean-shaped ornament. White pigment is present in the eyes, while the rest of the face is covered with traces of a yellow pigment. Two holes at the top of the forehead suggest that the mask was suspended or attached to a wearer.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Mask
  • Artist: Tolita-Tumaco artist(s)
  • Date: 500 BCE–300 CE
  • Geography: Colombia or Ecuador
  • Culture: Tolita-Tumaco
  • Medium: Ceramic
  • Dimensions: H. 5 1/4 × W. 7 3/8 × D. 3 5/8 in. (13.3 × 18.7 × 9.2 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics-Ornaments
  • Credit Line: Gift of Margaret B. Zorach, 1980
  • Object Number: 1980.34.21
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

More Artwork

More Artwork
Seated elder, Tolita-Tumaco artist(s), Ceramic, Tolita-Tumaco
Seated elder
Tolita-Tumaco artist(s)
200 BCE–300 CE
Standing figure, Tolita-Tumaco artist(s), Gold, Tolita-Tumaco
Standing figure
Tolita-Tumaco artist(s)
500 BCE–300 CE
Mask, Ceramic, Tolita-Tumaco
Mask
Tolita-Tumaco
1st–5th century
Zemí cohoba stand, Taíno artist(s), Guaiacum wood, shell, Taíno
Zemí cohoba stand
Taíno artist(s)
ca. 1000 CE
Mask, Ceramic, Tlatilco
Mask
Tlatilco
12th–9th century BCE

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