Sicán Gold Mask

Stendahl Galleries, Los Angeles

European Private Collection, acquired from the above on July 19, 1968

Thence by descent

The single gold sheet is evenly hammered and repoussé with the iconic Sicán face of comma-shaped eyes and straight mouth delineated by thin raised lines. The nose is modeled in relief showing the flared nostrils of inhalation.  

While sheet metal ornaments are seemingly a basic form, Sicán metallurgists excelled at the technical mastery of annealing, hammering to an even thickness, and final repoussé designs. Furthermore, “In addition to ornamental and utilitarian usages, metals became the prestigious media of the political, social and religious expression" (Shimada, Griffin and Gordus, “The Technology, Iconography and Social Significance of Metals, A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Middle Sican Objects,” in Colin McEwan, ed., Precolumbian Gold, Technology, Style and Iconography, London, 2000, p. 30).