Early 1st millennium AD. A quartz-polished travertine mask with shallow socket to the reverse, rectangular ears pierced at the lower edge, shallow socket eyes, broad mouth with lips slightly parted; mounted on a custom-made stand. Cf. similar item in the collection of the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, under accession number 2009.20.216; for a range of masks see Pasztory, E. Teotihuacan, Art from the City of the Gods, Hong Kong, 1993. 2.9 kg total, 22.8cm with stand (9"). Property of a Brussels gentleman; previously from a private Brussels, Belgium collection Teotihuacan, the first city state of ancient Mesoamerica rose to prominence between 200 and 600 AD. Finely carved stone masks form part of the important artistic legacy of the city. The function of beautiful masks such as this example remain unknown. Not produced to be worn, they were likely to have performed an important religious function and may have been attached to larger wooden structures. The ancient city and culture of Teotihuacan was revered by the Aztecs who many years later recovered important relics from the site and moved these to the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan.