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Items & Description

(1) MAYAN INDIAN MASK
MATERIAL: WOOD 
ORIGIN: SOUTHERN MEXICO AND NORTHERN AMERICA
SIZE:  37.5cm x 6.5cm x 42.5cm 

Mayan Indians are the people that inhabit the regions of southern Mexico and northern Central America. Although many people think of the Mayans as an ancient civilization, there are currently about six million Mayan Indians still living in this area. Many live moderns lives, but some still lead a more distinctly Mayan lifestyle including speaking one of the Mayan languages as their primary language.Between 200 and 900 AD, the Mayan Indians were making some of the most beautiful art in the world. Carvings and stucco reliefs as well as statues show the human form in a very graceful and accurate way. 
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Their architecture is also viewed as an art form. It spans thousands of years and there is still many examples of their architecture left such as the Mayan pyramid at Chichen-Itza, the most important capital of the Mayan civilization around 900 AD. They also had other magnificent cities such as Tikal and Uxmal that were all cultural centers. In the city of Copan, there was a tomb recently discovered of one of the Mayan Indian ancient rulers. Most Mayan cities also contained a ball court a grand court for the ball game they loved to play.  


(2) PRIEST MASK
MATERIAL: OBSIDIAN    
ORIGIN: SOUTHERN MEXICO
SIZE: 18.5cm x 6.8cm 10.5cm   

This mask represents a man probably a priest with two large rings in his ear lobes and one hanging from his nose. 


(3) FUNERARY MASK
MATERIAL: OBSIDIAN
ORIGIN: MESOAMERICA, CENTRAL MEXICO
SIZE: 20cm x 7cm x 22cm 

People of Mesoamerica believed in life after death and for this reason they filled the tombs of the deceased with rich funerary treasures so they would lack nothing on their final journey to the afterlife.  

(4) FUNERARY MASK
MATERIAL: TORTOISE
ORIGIN: MESOAMERICA, CENTRAL MEXICO 
SIZE: 19.5cm x 5.6cm x  21.5cm   

People of Mesoamerica believed in life after death and for this reason they filled the tombs of the deceased with rich funerary treasures so they would lack nothing on their final journey to the afterlife.  


(5) MASK OF DEATH AND REBIRTH
MATERIAL: OBSIDIAN
ORIGIN: TIKAL, SOUTHERN MEXICO 
SIZE: 23cm x 5.5cm x 12cm

This Mayan mask shows the different stages   of life as part of a never ending cycle of human evolution through life and the afterlife as it was understood by the Mayans.The inner face represents the beginning of life at birth. The middle face is the most important one since it represents the adult stage when the person comes into his full potential and most of his life experiences happens. The outer face represents the end of earthly life. This sacred time was viewed by the Maya as the end of one cycle and the beginning of another one. Death was followed by lavish  preparations for the next life. 


(6) TEOTIHUACAN AZTEC SUN MASK
MATERIAL: OBSIDIAN
ORIGIN: Mesoamerica, Mexico
SIZE: 25cm x 7cm x 16cm

This ancient Aztec sun mask is based on the unique sculpture of pre-Columbian art. The inspiration for this piece was twofold, one the stunning piece of obsidian stone sculpture carved by the Aztecs Teotihuacan, a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican city north of the city of Mexico, the Aztecs masks were a very important part of their culture and thought to be very powerful and was said to come from the sun god. 
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