Man's face with long nose; red skin; gold hair with curls in front of ears,long moustache and pointed beard; white teeth

Mask, 19th century

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Wood, pigmentexpand_more

The Paul C. Johnson, Jr. Fundexpand_more  99.3.2

Not on Viewexpand_more

This mask represents Pedro de Alvarado, a Conquistador, and is used during the Dance of the Conquest that is performed in the Quiche region of Guatemala. In this dance, Alvarado and his soldiers battle with Tecun Uman, one of the last great Maya heroes. During the fight, the conquistador falls from a great wound inflicted by Tecun Uman, who thinks he has won and walks away, but Alvarado gets up and kills the Maya warrior before finally dying himself. The dance is accompanied by drums and whistles and the participants shout out the Quiche words of the ancient poem describing the conflict.

Details
Title
Mask
Role
Artist
Accession Number
99.3.2
Curator Approved

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Man's face with long nose; red skin; gold hair with curls in front of ears,long moustache and pointed beard; white teeth