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Source Description
The Paracas people buried their dead in pear-shaped mummy bundles, created by carefully wrapping the seated human body in layers of garments and other textiles. Sometimes a painted cloth was placed on the outer layer at the top of the bundle, as though it served as the bundle’s face, head, or “mask.” Some cloths were painted with masklike faces, although others—such as this example—feature complete figures, which may be mythological beings with supernatural appendages.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
119678
label
Mummy Bundle "Mask"
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
119678
contentType
object
title
Mummy Bundle "Mask"
description
The Paracas people buried their dead in pear-shaped mummy bundles, created by carefully wrapping the seated human body in layers of garments and other textiles. Sometimes a painted cloth was placed on the outer layer at the top of the bundle, as though it served as the bundle’s face, head, or “mask.” Some cloths were painted with masklike faces, although others—such as this example—feature complete figures, which may be mythological beings with supernatural appendages.
date
200 BCE–1 CE
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80014833
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 71.7 x 20.9 cm (28 1/4 x 8 1/4 in.)
cul
Peru, South Coast, Ica Valley, Ocucaje site, Paracas style
accession
1940.517
Source extras
tec
plain warp-faced cloth, painted
tombstone
Mummy Bundle "Mask", 200 BCE–1 CE. Peru, South Coast, Ica Valley, Ocucaje site, Paracas style. Plain warp-faced cloth, painted; overall: 71.7 x 20.9 cm (28 1/4 x 8 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection, 1940.517
collection
T - Pre-Columbian
didYouKnow
These masks fall into two categories, those with only a face and those with a full-bodied figure.
creditline
The Norweb Collection
galleryDonorText
Jon A. Lindseth and Virginia M. Lindseth, PhD, Galleries of the Ancient Americas
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:10:43.583000
sourceId
119678
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Pre-Columbian
med
plain warp-faced cloth, painted
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
6c824d460c1809ab