Ecological-Cultural Mask 015

Description

Hummingbirds in Tropical Cedar

This carved wall mask’s composition celebrates the tiny, but fierce hummingbird, carved in tropical cedar. The hummingbird is a particularly important bird for the Native groups of lower Central America. The lovely wood grain of this cedar wood piece makes this composition that much more special.

Elaborate and almost narrative ecological themed cultural masks, such as this piece, represent an evolution of form emerging from the traditional Brunka ceremonial masks. Typically carved from balsa wood and tropical cedar, these decorative masks are reminiscent of story boards allowing the mask artists to render scenes of the landscapes, flora and fauna of the tribe’s territory, as well as scenes from their native legends, cosmology and pre-Columbian past.

• Tribe: Brunka (Boruca)
• Artist: Hermes Morales
• Size: 8 1/2″ x 19″ (21.5 x 48.5 cm)