Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

visual plane into two roughly symmetrical halves, there are small differences. On the right facing side of the
mask, there are two vertical incisions. On the upper portion of the rectangular segment, one incision is to
be seen above the top right corner of the left triangle. Almost directly below this incision is a second
incision on the edge of the right facing cylindrical protrusion.
Another feature that contributes to the asymmetry of this mask is a small semicircular indentation
on the lower edge of the rectangular shelf, just below and between the middle and right triangles. On the
right cylindrical protrusion, there is a second semicircular depression that is nestled in a larger, more
irregular depression. While these features could potentially be attributed to damage sustained through
transport, I would argue that these features were intentionally rendered, as there is a certain degree of
precision evident. The incisions are of uniform depth and length as are the two semicircular depressions. An
additional indication of intention is the uniformity of the surrounding surface – there is no abhorrent
discoloration or textural change that would indicate a significant lapse in time from when the rest of the
mask had been formed. The outer surface of the mask bears signs of sacrificial build up, while the inside of
the mask in generally smoother. The cylindrical protrusions show extreme amounts of encrustation on the
inner part.
Along the edge of the face cavity are diamond shaped punctures that might have once been used to
help fix the mask to the head. My instinctual analysis of this mask concerned ideas of elephants (the
protrusions resemble trunks to me) and twinhood because of the shared set of triangular “eyes” and the two
“noses.”
I had certainly never seen anything like it before, and almost no one, including experts in the field
of art history, had either. I knew that it would be challenging to research, but the challenge was part of the
allure. What I did not account for was the biases this research would unearth in my own perceptions of art.
I started with the internet, wondrous digitized warehouse of information that it is, and summarily
exhausted the reputable image database ArtStor. Nothing on ArtStor was remotely similar to this mask. The
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