Middle Sicán Period, 8th-14th century AD. A gilded life-size repoussé funerary mask, crescentic in plan with tear-shaped eyes, raised nose made separately with dangles beneath which cover a thin mouth, anthropomorphic figures on upper ears representing helmetted warriors; discoid ear plugs; raised beads to the chin and ears; embossed patterns to the face; a number of piercings to the eyes which suggest they once held attachments or other decoration such as feathers, shells or jewels; red-brown patina; Sicán Lambayeque culture, circa 750-1375 AD. See Newton, D. et al., The Pacific Islands, Africa, and the Americas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1987; cf. Pillsbury, J. et al., Golden Kingdoms: Luxury Arts in the Ancient Americas, Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, 2017, no.21. 69 grams, 26cm (10 1/4"). From the private collection of Mr Michael J. Vaupel, Miami, USA; acquired from Mr Gloria Lisset Reyes Garcia, Florida, USA; ex private American collection, circa 1960s; previously in the collection of Mr Razeto; acquired in the 1950s-1960s; formerly acquired before 1950; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no.10236-167180. The surface of this mask is composed of gold and a small percentage of silver and copper. The use of gold suggests that the individual was a member of the nobility. Gold was a metal with a symbolic connection to the sun deity. The ancient Peruvian people were skilled metalworkers. They used copper, gold and silver which were mined locally to make a variety of luxury objects. This mask once belonged to a high priest or ruler from the Sicán or Lambayeque culture in northern Peru. It was intended to protect the deceased in the afterlife and was deposited in a grave, either on top of or around the upper part of, the body of the deceased's mummy bundle as a substitute for the face of the deceased. The ovoid eyes are characteristically Lambayeque in style and may represent a figure known as the Sicán deity. Some experts believe that an individual interred with such a mask was believed to appropriate the deity's attributes and powers, and transformed into venerated ancestors upon death. The hanging ornaments are typical of such Sicán objects, which have been discovered in the tombs of both male and female notables. Although used in the context of burials, the dangles conveyed a sense of animated movement, as the mummy was processed to its final resting place within a monumental platform mound.