Oculate Being Mask (300 BCE–1 CE (thermoluminescence date, 835 BC–185 CE)): Art, History and Details

Oculate Being Mask (300 BCE–1 CE (thermoluminescence date, 835 BC–185 CE)) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This rare mask incarnates a supernatural being who may have been the patron of an early fertility cult on Peru’s south coast. Its traits insinuate power, especially the stuck-out tongue and the serpents that slither over the face to form a halo-like corona. Unexplained are the shape of the nose and the small figure wearing a similar mask. The mask could have served as the face of a mummy bundle or an object; the projecting eyes might rule out use by a living performer.

Object facts

• Title: Oculate Being Mask
• Date: 300 BCE–1 CE (thermoluminescence date, 835 BC–185 CE)
• Culture: Peru, South Coast, Paracas (Cavernas) style (700 BCE–1 CE)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: ceramic, resin-based paint
• Dimensions: Overall: 23.6 x 22.5 x 13.2 cm (9 5/16 x 8 7/8 x 5 3/16 in.)
• Collection: AA - Andes
• Department: Art of the Americas
• Accession number: 2003.39

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Bergh, Susan E., "Ancient Eyes", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 44 no. 06, Summer 2004
• Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 53 no. 03, May/June 2013

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.