North Coast / Peru
possibly 600-1000
Sheet gold, vermilion
The painting of masks made of various materials and the use of red pigments is a basic feature of funerals of high-ranking individuals. Vermilion has the capacity to kill off tissue-destroying bacteria and thus is able to delay the decomposition of the corpse when applied to the skin or the bones. The mercury that is contained in the vermilion is also responsible for the changes to the surface of those sections of the mask where the red has worn off. What the red colour on the mummy mask meant in symbolic terms is not known. Is it a reference to the practices of body painting, or is it meant to keep the deceased body alive in a figurative sense?
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