For as long as human beings have been on this
earth they have wrestled with the meaning of life
and the mysteries of death. Neither has yielded
up their secrets, yet nearly all the world's
cultures have maintained their fervent belief in
an afterlife. No matter how this other life is
imagined- whether as a blissful Elysium field
where friends and relatives interact in a
paradisiacal setting; or a purely spiritual
existence whirling in the cosmic beauty of God;
the spark of the soul is believed by most people
to be carried on into a higher and more rarified
realm. Like the Egyptians, the ancient Costa
Ricans were fascinated in these speculations, and
frequently used art as a medium towards
understanding and explanation. Immediately
we are seized by the sheer power and
monumental presence of this superb sculpture.
This mask would have been part of funerary
offerings for a wealthy or noble personage. Only
a master craftsman could have carved this
exquisite skull from a block of stone; using
simple tools like an artist uses a brush to fashion
the delicate curves, the incised details of the
teeth and the beautiful jaguars depicting ears or
ear ornaments. And only a noble person could
have afforded to hire such an expert artist. An
object such as this is more than it appears,
though it appears with such vivid authority. It is
a sort of window or passage into a hidden sphere
where we can look into our own psyches, and
allow each of us to search for the answer of who
we are, where we have come from and where we
are going.
- (PF.4475)
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