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Portrait mask
Portrait mask

Portrait mask

900–600 BC
Object PlaceRío Pesquero area, Veracruz, Mexico
Medium/TechniqueJadeite with black inclusions
DimensionsOverall: 21.6 x 11.4 x 18.7 cm (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 7 3/8 in.)
Credit LineGift of Landon T. Clay
Accession number1991.968
On View
On view
ClassificationsMasks
Collections
Description
This is one of the finest Olmec masks in a public collection. The naturalistic features of this masterpiece recall monumental Olmec stone heads rendering historical individuals. Perhaps the portrait of a ruler, this may have been a symbol of state authority or a funerary item. The mask originally was green; the gray color was caused by its being put into a fire, as part of a religious ritual.
ProvenanceFrom Arroyo Pesquero (also called Río Pesquero), Veracruz, Mexico. August 20, 1970, sold by a dealer in Mexico City to Alphonse Jax (dealer), New York; March 23, 1971, sold by Jax to Landon T. Clay, Boston; 1991, year-end gift of Landon Clay to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 22, 1992)