State of Veracruz

9 inches, carved wood with paint

This mask is nicely carved of some hard wood. It is thin- walled to reduce the weight, and many of the features are well shaped. Notice the oval carved areas around the eyes, the jutting chin and the very nicely shaped mouth with carved teeth. He has the menacing unhappy expression of a Moor, along with the typical pink face and dramatic sideburns. Even his eyes portray a feeling of fear. He has been repainted, and the back demonstrates moderate wear.

Although this mask looks like a typical Moor from Veracruz, I have a nagging memory of being in Gary Collison’s company when he bought this mask, and that memory is of him selecting from a group of masks from the Sierra of the state of Michoacan. So it could be that this mask is really from the Tarascan/ Purepecha Indians.