Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask
Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask

Moche Copper Bronze Ceremonial Mask

17699

$6,750
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 Early/Middle Mochica, Loma Negra, 300 Bc to 300 AD.  A well defined dignitary facial mask with realistic features in deep repousse, large almond shaped eyes, each with brow outlined and naturalistic regal protruding nose. Original surface with a green cupric oxide patination.   Heidi King in the book The Spirit of Ancient Peru says, "The Moche people were among the most skilled and innovative metal smiths in the Americas. The Moche valued copper highly and placed copper items in important burials as evidence in recently excavated tombs at the site of Sipan having almond shaped eyes and a wide, brim type crown, attached at the brow line with a row of danglers suspended along the brim. He  also has large, round ears face. 

Size: 8-1/2 in H x 7 in w.   Overall blue-green patina. Some normal losses to the decorative elements, (dangler missing) otherwise intact and in an excellent state of preservation for a mask of this type. Cf. Lapiner, fig. 349, for the type.

Provenance: Mary McFadden (1938–2024) "The Archaeologist of Seventh Avenue". Mary was one of the most distinctive and intellectually adventurous American fashion designers of the late twentieth century, celebrated for collections that drew directly on the art and dress of ancient and non-Western civilizations. Her signature finely pleated "Marii" silk gowns evoked the chitons of classical Greece and the pleated linens of pharaonic Egypt, while her use of color, ornament, and motif borrowed openly from Africa, Asia, pre-Columbian America, and the ancient Mediterranean. This deep engagement with the material culture of the past earned her the memorable nickname "the Archaeologist of Seventh Avenue."

A former editor at Vogue and a tireless world traveler, McFadden was as much a collector and connoisseur as a couturier. She assembled an eclectic personal collection of antiquities and ethnographic art gathered over decades of travel, which she frequently cited as the inspiration for her designs. Her work was widely exhibited and collected, and she was inducted into the Coty American Fashion Critics' Hall of Fame, cementing her reputation as a designer whose creativity was rooted in the study of the ancient world.

Every object is guaranteed authentic and as described, and has been legally acquired and imported in accordance with U.S. and applicable foreign regulations on the movement and sale of antiquities. A signed certificate of authenticity with a description and photograph accompanies this object. Any restoration is described on the invoice.

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Any object may be returned within 14 days of receipt for a refund or credit. Contact us first. See Buying from Us.

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