This mask, crafted from a hammered sheet of gold alloy and finished with red pigment, originally adorned the remains of a sovereign buried on the northern coast of Peru. Notable details include the eyes, which feature slender skewer like extensions emerging from the pupils that may suggest a commanding or piercing gaze, as well as the ears and their accompanying ornaments. These elements preserve traces of silver sheeting, now deteriorated to a green colour, together with pendants attached to the U shaped nose ornament, additions intended to catch the sun’s brilliance and produce a sense of movement and vitality as the wrapped body of the deceased was carried to its final burial site.