750-1375 AD. A life-size gold-alloy funerary mask produced using repoussé technique, the face with almond-shaped eyes below long brows, raised nose with two dangles, thin ellipsoidal mouth, deep nasolabial folds, abstract rectangular ears and large circular ear spools ornamented with a circumferential border of raised pellets-in-circles; clusters of tiny circular piercings in the ears and sides of the face where additional danglers probably once hung. See The Metropolitan Museum, accession number 1979.206.556, for a very similar example dated 9th-11th century AD. 135 grams, 30cm (11 3/4"). From the collection of A. Fisher, Hamburg, Germany; previously in the collection of Jose Carlos Sempiterno Ribeiro, Lisbon, Portugal; ex Spanish archaeologist; believed to have been acquired, circa 1960s-1970s; accompanied by a signed Yanto Alexander Fine Art catalogue entry; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no.10882-179028. Made using 'Tumbaga gold'. Gold was a metal often used to represent the sun deity. Julie Jones writes that masks such as this 'once adorned the body of a deceased ruler on Peru's north coast. Powerful dynasties arose in this region between the 8th and the 14th centuries AD and amassed great riches in gold and silver before they were conquered by the Inca Empire in the late 15th century.' Such masks were placed into the grave on top or or near to the top of the body, and were intended to protect the deceased in the afterlife. The masks were also attached to the mummy bundles of the Sican elites as a substitute for the face of the deceased individual. Masks intended for use by the attendants who would serve the individual in the afterlife were also placed into the grave, along with artificial body parts such as arms and hands, positioned as though holding the ceremonial cups which were also deposited within the grave. The distinctive eyes given to this mask may represent an individual known as 'the Sican Deity'; some experts argue that an individual buried with such as mask was believed to adopt aspects of the sun deity's power and as such, would have been venerated upon their death. The dangles, adding a sense of movement to the body of the deceased, possibly reproduced a sense of life or rebirth during the burial ceremony. For this specific lot, 5% import VAT is applicable on the hammer price Condition Report Fine condition.