Modern Sculptural Mayan Death Mask Made of Tessellated Stone Panels. Done in the style of the masks that ancient kings would be buried in, the shape uses a mixture of dark, colorful, and mother of pearl rectangular panels to create the image of the a face with holes for the eyes and mouth. Piece is attached to a flat smooth stone base. 

Size: 6 1/4 x 4 3/4 x 7 3/4 in. 

Mayan death masks were elaborate, mosaic-style funerary masks crafted from jade, obsidian, and shell, used to cover the faces of deceased rulers and nobles to signify divine, eternal life. The most famous is the Mask of Pakal, discovered in 1952 in Palenque’s Temple of the Inscriptions, which portrays the king with youthful, deity-like features. The masks act as a spiritual bridge, transforming the deceased leader into a god during his journey to the afterlife, and their often extremely elaborate details indicate the tremendous skill of the Mayan artisans who crafted them, a craft which continues to be honored in their descendants with modern interpretations using more common materials today throughout Central America. 

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