Olmec masks with human features are among the
most beautiful sculptures of jade and serpentine
produced by Olmec lapidaries. It is difficult to
determine how these works of art functioned in
Olmec life, but it is more than likely that this
beautiful jade mask was used in funerary rituals,
either placed over the face of the deceased lord
before burial or interred with his ashes after
cremation. In either case, this sculpture portrayed
the features of the dead lord in the most
precious material known to Olmec artists. Even
today, with state of the art equipment, a sculptor
would be considered a master to have produced
a work of art such as this mask. Through this
artist's brilliance the inherent beauty and warmth
of the jade has been enriched, refined into
something more than material- a palpable,
almost flesh like feeling which radiates its own
natural light and the inner power of the person it
represents. This gorgeous mask seems to hover
between the physical and non-physical, of life
and death, as if we can see through its glow into
another sphere of existence.
- (PF.4516a)
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