Teotihuacan Stone Mask

Emile Deletaille, Brussels, acquired in 1969

Roger Stallaert, Brussels, acquired from the above July 10, 1969

Lin and Emile Deletaille, Brussels, acquired from the above in 2019

Thence by descent

Brussels, Société Générale de Banque, Art de Mésoamérique - Meso-Amerikaanse Kunst, November 17, 1976 - January 8, 1977

Société Générale de Banque, Art de Mésoamérique - Meso-Amerikaanse kunst, Brussels, 1976, fig. 97

With serene expression, the deeply recessed eyes once inlaid under thin, arched brows, distinguished by the prominent nose with flaring nostrils, narrow ear flanges pierced for ear ornaments; and pierced at the sides and twice on the reverse, carved in deep, green-black serpentine.

The youthful idealized face is the hallmark of Teotihuacan stone masks. Here the large oval eyes fill the facial plane, while the gently expanded nostrils convey a sense of breath and life. It is believed that masks were centerpieces of figures made of perishable wood and fabric during annual ceremonies. 

As Teotihuacan masks have distinctive typologies, some are taller than wide as the present mask with its fleshy treatment of the nose, a close example is found at the Musée du Quai Branly, Acc. No. 70.1999.12.1.