Although his specific identity is not known, the creator of this mummy mask was probably male. Within the Chimú culture, which existed in the north coast region of Peru from approximately 1000–1470 A.D., the artisan of this gold mask was considered highly skilled and a valuable worker to the king. His metalworking shop would have been attached to the ciudadelas, or palace compound, whereas less important artisans would have been housed in the barrios, or outer neighborhoods of the city. Gold and silver artisans were supported by the state on a full-time basis. Metallurgy has been practiced in Peru since about 1800 B.C., with gold being the earliest metal known to be worked.
This mask would typically have been placed in the tomb of someone who was very important, most likely of royal lineage. Masks were set over the wrapped face area of the deceased, and additional masks were often positioned at the base of the mummy bundle, a term used to describe the wrapped, bundled body of the deceased. The corpse would have been seated in a semi-reclining, flexed position, and wrapped in anywhere from fifty to a hundred yards of woven cloth.
Crafted out of a single sheet of metal, with the projecting nose attached separately, this mask is typical of the Chimú style. Punctures on the mask once held gold or silver wires with gems such as emeralds or lapis lazuli dangling from the ends. Teardrop-shaped gold pendants dangle below the bottom edge of the mask and from the decorative lateral projections.
At the top of each of the lateral projections are stylized human figures that are entangled with a serpentine-like animal. Similar representations can also be found in textiles and other metal objects from this time period and region of Peru. The figures are skirted and shirtless, and wear large, feathered headdresses. This mask is partially covered with a bright crimson paint made of cinnabar, an ore of mercury. It is possible that at one time this mask was completely covered with other paint colors, other metals, and a variety of precious stones and feathers. The symbolic importance of the common practice of painting precious metals with red color is is still being investigated by scholars.
Goldsmiths working during this period used a wide range of fabrication techniques. They used templates for cutting, dies for stamping, and embossing to ornament or make the surface more rigid. The artisan who made this mask attached the nosepiece by passing metal tabs projecting from the nose through slots cut into the mask. Ancient Peruvian metal workers were also very sophisticated metallurgists. This mask was hammered from a sheet of gold alloyed with copper. Alloys were used not only because they were easier to cast, but also because they were harder than pure gold and could display decorative detail more accurately. The sheet of metal from which this mask was made was probably alternately annealed (re-fired to a red heat) and hammered against a block of wood. Finely polished stones with angular projections were used as both anvils and hammers.
The fact that the gold of the mask was covered with other objects and paints, and was buried with the dead is an indication of the difference between the way the ancient Peruvians and the first Europeans who invaded this region valued gold. To the Peruvians gold was probably considered sacred and was identified with celestial deities, whereas the Spanish Conquistadors knew the intrinsic value of the gold, and began looting it from the Incas around 1530, a practice that continued for centuries by many other invaders. Peru was the most intensively looted center of all ancient civilizations.
