Producer unknown to us
Mask
Americas, Guatemala, Rio Salinas, Rio Chíxoy
Prior to 1910
Wood, metal, carved
Collector unknown
Purchased by the museum from Naturhistorisches Institut Kosmos Berlin in 1910
MAm 01431
So-called "devil’s masks" such as this piece are worn during the Baile de los Diablos, the Dance of the Devils in Guatemala until today. The Baile de los Diablos was introduced as popular theater to facilitate missionary work by Catholic clergy.
The performance of dramas and mystery plays by Central American communities dates back to the precolonial period. The later missionary dances also picked up elements from the pre-Christian ceremonies. However, the protagonists of these dances were mostly of European origin and thematized the conquest of Central America by Spain, as well as Christian legends.
Hermann Rolle's Kosmos Natural History Institute dealt in objects of natural science, and occasionally ethnographic objects.
Frank Usbeck