Ceremonial mask
Colombia, Calima region
c. 500–1 B.C.
Gold and paint
7 1/4 x 9 7/8 x 1 1/4 in. (18.41 x 25.08 x 3.17 cm)
The Nora and John Wise Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jake L. Hamon, the Eugene McDermott Family, Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Murchison, 1976.W.321

The pre-Hispanic goldwork of Colombia is traditionally classified by archaeological zones, or regions, each with stylistic associations: Sinú and Tairona in the north, Muisca in the central highlands southeast of Bogotá, and in the southwest, Quimbaya, Calima, Tolima, and Nariño. The Calima region encompasses the upper Calima River valley and surrounding areas of the Western Cordillera, extending east to the Cauca River. Calima goldwork, like other styles of southwestern Colombia, is characterized by the use of high-quality gold and a preference for working the metal directly, by hammering.

Recent research in the Calima region has established several periods of occupation, and striking masks depicting human faces, of which some thirty examples are known, are now attributed to the Ilama period, the earliest in which gold was worked in this area. The masks have in common an oval or rounded shape with a clean outline, almond-shaped eyes, triangular nose, prominent mouth, and broad cheeks. Details distinguish one mask from another: the depth of the features, the size of the pupil-like holes in the eyes. the smooth or ragged edges of cut-out areas, and the shape of the mouth, which may form a rectangular grimace or a crescentic smile. Although many of the masks have been found in burials, they could also have been worn during life.