Phoenician Silver Face Mask

6th-4th century BC. A sheet-silver face mask modelled in the half-round with sloping lentoid eyes beneath slender brows, a short angular nose, mouth closed in a slight grin, fleshy cheeks and chin, the features formed using repouss� technique; attachment rivets positioned at various points on the face. Cf. Moscati, S., I Fenici, Milano, 1988, p.124, for similar funerary mask in gold, see also pp.354ff., for discussion. 63 grams, 13.6cm (5 1/4"). From a private family collection formed in London from the mid 1980s to early 1990s; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no.10905-179745. The use of masks in rituals or funerary ceremonies is an ancient, cross-cultural human practice, although masks can also be worn for protection in hunting, sports, in feasts, in wars, or simply used as a decoration. Examples of death masks in gold from Phoenicia have been found in Byblos, dating them to the Achaemenid period.
Condition Report: Fair condition, slightly misshapen.