Mascaritas Mini

This week, I went with a friend to the National Museum of Mexican Art to see the exhibit El Arte Del Pequeno or the Art of the Small. Four miniature rooms were included in the exhibit, and one of the objects in one of the rooms really caught my eye.

So I was pleased when I found a similar one in the gift shop, especially since it was in the clearance section!

The price tag included the description “Mascaritas Guerrera” and googling that led to the website of Universidad Complitense Madrid (webs.ucm.es/BUCM) and this picture of a full-size mask.

The entry explains that the jaguar mask is part of the Dance of the Tlacolderos, a dance from pre-Christian times that, like so many traditions, has been incorporated into Christian observances and is performed in Guerrero, Mexico during the Feast of the Holy Cross, during Carnival, on some patron saint’s days, and in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12. The dance depicts the efforts of farmers to catch the tiger or jaguar.

We had the perfect place for the mini mask on our gallery wall.

I love the juxtaposition of the jaguar mask’s eyes with the eyes behind the mask of the figure to the right.