Mask

Date:: 900–400 B.C.

Geography:: Mexico, Mesoamerica

Culture:: Olmec

Medium:: Jadeite

Dimensions:: H. 6 3/4 x W. 6 5/16 in. (17.1 x 16.5 cm)

Classification:: Stone-Sculpture

Credit Line:: Bequest of Alice K. Bache, 1977

Accession Number:: 1977.187.33

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 358

Depicting a typical Olmec face with slanted, almond-shaped eyes and a toothless, slightly downturned mouth, this mask is rendered with simplicity and elegance. Its harmonious proportions are indicative of the sophistication attained by Olmec sculptors. The smooth, highly polished planes of cheek, forehead, and chin plus the almost fleshy quality of the nose and parted lips belie the incredible hardness of the jadeite cobble from which the mask was made. The face itself is neither human nor supernatural but, rather, an idealized type that incorporates otherworldly aspects—such as the mouth, with its reference to the so-called were-jaguar, a powerful mythic being with human and jaguar traits.

Masks of this size in stone have not been excavated in archaeological sites and it is difficult to determine their function. Lacking holes for eyes and nose, it could not have been worn over a living face, but there are attachment holes along the edges by means of which it might have been used as a costume element or adhered as a face to a mummy or a sacred bundle. There is a polished, circular depression on the back of the mask.

Milton Arno Leof, Mexico City, 1962–1966; [Everett Rassiga, Inc., New York]; Jay C. Leff, Uniontown, PA, 1966–1970; [Walter Randel Gallery, New York, until 1970]; Alice K. Bache, New York, 1970–(d.)1977

Essays in Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1961, pp.43-59.

"Works of Art Now on the Market: Supplement." The Burlington Magazine vol. 105, no. 765 (December 1966), pl. V.

Easby, Elizabeth Kennedy, and John F. Scott. Before Cortez: Sculpture in Middle America. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970.

Jones, Mark. The art of the medal. London, 1979, pp. 91–96.

Jones, Julie. Metropolitan Museum of Art: Notable Acquisitions, 1975–1979. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979, p. 94.

Dickey, Thomas, Vance Muse, and Henry Wiencek. The God-Kings of Mexico. Treasures of the World. Chicago: Stonehenge Press, 1982, p. 22.

Newton, Douglas, Julie Jones, and Kate Ezra. The Pacific Islands, Africa, and the Americas. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987, p. 116, fig. 83.

Watts, Edith. The art of ancient Mexico and Peru: Teachers' packet. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1990, p.16, fig. 14.

de la Fuente, Beatriz, ed. Mexico en el mundo de las colecciones de arte. Vol. vol. 2. Mexico: D.R. Primera, 1994, p.29.

Timelines
Mexico, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.

82nd & Fifth
Cochineal Red: The Art History of a Color
[adapted from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 67, no. 3 (Winter, 2010)]
Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 12, The Pacific Islands, Africa, and the Americas