Published Tumaco-La-Tolita Terracotta Mask

Culture: Tumaco-La-Tolita/Pacific coast of South Colombia and North Ecuador

Period: 300 B.C. to 300 A.D.

Material: Terracotta

Dimensions: 5.8 cm high

Price: 800 Euro

Ref: 11110

Provenance: Austrian private collection Prof. Josef Mairitsch (1938-1994) with the inventory number M 167. Acquired between 1960 and the early 1980s. Thence in the family estate. With a copy of the inventory list, the collection note and the catalogue page.

Condition: Intact

Description: Expressive, small terracotta mask with grotesque features of the Tumaco-La-Tolita culture. The face depicts an old man with deeply set, slit-shaped eyes, which are framed by strong cheekbones and brows. The chin tapers, the mouth is slightly open. A big jewellery ring hangs in the broad nose. The semi-circular ears protrude to the sides and sit high next to the bald forehead. The forehead- and nasolabial folds are incised. An interesting character face from the early period of Pre-Columbian art. Published in: Josef Mairitsch “Columbus am Wörthersee. Amerika vor Columbus.” Catalogue for the special exhibition of the cultural department of the state capital Klagenfurt from 1 June to 31 October 1992, page 45, no. 3.03.