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Source Description
The Paracas people of Peru's South Coast buried their dead in pear-shaped mummy bundles made of a seated human body carefully wrapped in garments and other textiles. Sometimes a painted cloth was placed at the top of the bundle, as though it served as the bundle's face, head, or "mask." The cloth was padded on the back so it curved outward like a face, and the tress-like yarns (unwoven warps) at the upper edge were arranged around a solid cotton disk that, in turn, was wrapped with a headband. Some cloths were painted with mask-like faces, and others with full figures, apparently mythical creatures.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
119684
label
Mummy Bundle "Mask"
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
119684
contentType
object
title
Mummy Bundle "Mask"
description
The Paracas people of Peru's South Coast buried their dead in pear-shaped mummy bundles made of a seated human body carefully wrapped in garments and other textiles. Sometimes a painted cloth was placed at the top of the bundle, as though it served as the bundle's face, head, or "mask." The cloth was padded on the back so it curved outward like a face, and the tress-like yarns (unwoven warps) at the upper edge were arranged around a solid cotton disk that, in turn, was wrapped with a headband. Some cloths were painted with mask-like faces, and others with full figures, apparently mythical creatures.
date
170 BCE–70 CE (radiocarbon date, 95% probability)
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80014846
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 58.5 x 18.8 cm (23 1/16 x 7 3/8 in.)
cul
Peru, South Coast, Ica Valley, Ocucaje site, Paracas style (700 BCE–1 CE)
accession
1940.522
Source extras
tec
plain warp-faced cloth, painted: cotton
tombstone
Mummy Bundle "Mask", 170 BCE–70 CE (radiocarbon date, 95% probability). Peru, South Coast, Ica Valley, Ocucaje site, Paracas style (700 BCE–1 CE). Plain warp-faced cloth, painted: cotton; overall: 58.5 x 18.8 cm (23 1/16 x 7 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection, 1940.522
collection
T - Pre-Columbian
didYouKnow
These masks fall into two categories, those with only a face and those with a full-bodied figure.
citations
citation
Frame, Mary. “Cronología de los fardos funerarios de Wari Kayan, Paracas Necrópolis.” Hilos del pasado: el aporte francés al legado Paracas. Lima: Instituto Nacional de Cultura, 2007.
page_number
35, 43, 46
creditline
The Norweb Collection
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:10:43.371000
sourceId
119684
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Pre-Columbian
med
plain warp-faced cloth, painted: cotton
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
3db6bd026f7c78c5