Mouth Mask
1 of 3
Object Label
A common motif in Nasca art is the Anthropomorphic Mythical Being, or “masked god,” interpreted by scholars as a symbolic representation of the powerful spirits residing in nature. On the vessel seen here, the being is associated with agricultural fertility, as indicated by the many multicolored peppers depicted on its body. The figure holds two trophy heads in one hand and a club and some peppers in the other. Decapitation and the shedding of blood were associated with cultivation and the regeneration of plants. The figure is also shown wearing a hammered-gold mouth mask with snake imagery similar to the one displayed here. Snakes were linked to fertility and water cults.
Caption
Nasca. Mouth Mask, 100–400 C.E.. Hammered gold, A: 3 × 3 3/4 × 1/4 in. (7.6 × 9.5 × 0.6 cm) B: 2 x 2 7/8 x 1/4 in. (5.1 x 7.3 x 0.6 cm) C: 2 x 3 x 3/16 in. (5.1 x 7.6 x 0.5 cm) Total weight: 13.37 g. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.224.110a-c. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.224.110a-c_bw.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Mouth Mask
Date
100–400 C.E.
Period
Early Nasca, Phases 2, 3, or 4
Geography
Place found: South Coast, Peru
Medium
Hammered gold
Classification
Dimensions
A: 3 × 3 3/4 × 1/4 in. (7.6 × 9.5 × 0.6 cm) B: 2 x 2 7/8 x 1/4 in. (5.1 x 7.3 x 0.6 cm) C: 2 x 3 x 3/16 in. (5.1 x 7.6 x 0.5 cm) Total weight: 13.37 g
Credit Line
Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.
Accession Number
86.224.110a-c
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Hi! How does one wear a mouth mask? I can't picture how it stays on.
This would have been suspended from the nose and covered the mouth. It would have been a symbol of high status in the Nasca culture of Peru, where this is from. The small linkage between the snakes is where it would have been suspended.Ah. So a piercing between nostrils. Ouch! Perhaps the upper part bends to wrap the nose too.Exactly! Nostril piercings are still popular today! As this Mouth Mask is made from fairly thin gold, it would not have been that heavy.We have more examples of Peruvian goldwork upstairs if you'd like to see more large jewelry.
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