Frank “Chico” Martínez Part 3

In my last two posts you have seen Pascola masks by Frank Martínez with a variety of faces. Today I will conclude my discussion of this carver with four additional masks that have the faces of goats or rams, and then three changos (monkeys and apes).

I purchased my first Pascola mask by Frank from Lupe Sinoui, the director of the Old Pascua Community Center, in 1989.  I chose it from a group of masks that Frank had probably made in that year or the one before. Later I traded it to David West, the owner of Gallery West in Tucson. Here are photos of this Goat faced mask that I took when it was still in my collection. Isn’t it handsome?

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This mask has good vision openings and attractive painted details.

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There are crosses on the forehead and chin.

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The back is well carved and there is no staining from use.

This equally wonderful Goat Pascola mask by Frank Martínez was collected by Barney and Mahina Burns (B&M# 351/344); it dates to around 1994.

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This mask is very nicely painted.

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There are painted flowers flanking the forehead cross.

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This one one of Frank’s masks that has those tiny openings for vision.

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There is a tiny cross tucked under the chin.

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This mask may have been mildly danced, but certainly not much.

I purchased this third Goat mask on Ebay, several years ago. It was said to have been carved by Frank Martínez in 1986.

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I particularly like the white painted decorations on the face of this mask.

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I also like the everted upper lip.

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There are crosses on the forehead and chin.

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This mask is 8½” tall,  5½” wide, and 3¼” deep.

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There is no evidence of use.

The fourth Goat Pascola mask has curling ram’s horns. It was collected undanced by Tom Kolaz in 1983. I photographed it with the permission of Jerry Collings in 2012, when it was in his collection.

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Because of the striking combination of colors, I usually don’t perceive this as a goat mask. Instead it always makes me think of a Chango (monkey).

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The silver paint is particularly unusual.

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The reason that so many of Frank’s masks were never danced is not because they weren’t suitable, but because Frank liked to sell a mask as soon as it was finished, and this led him to sell to repeat customers such as Lupe Sinoui, Martha Secan, Tom Kolaz, or other Tucson collectors or dealers.

Now I will finish with three Chango or monkey/ape masks. As I recall, I bought this one from Martha Secan of Tucson in about 1995. I later traded it to David West, of Gallery West in Tucson, Arizona.

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This is another one of Frank’s masks with wonderful paint.

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There is an attractive forehead cross.

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As you may have noticed, Frank often added an inner rim design, particularly around the chin.

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I don’t have a photo of the back.

I purchased this Chango mask from Martha Secan in 1996.

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I particularly like the painted ears.

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The half circle framing the cross is so attractive.

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By now you must have noticed that Frank wants his masks to have both a forehead and a chin cross.

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This mask is 7″ tall,  5½” wide, and 2¾” deep.

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There is no staining from use.

When I bought this mask in 1998 from a Tucson dealer, Tom Kolaz commented that Frank had recently switched over to this painting style, which was quite different from his earlier one.

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From a sculptural perspective, this is a great mask.

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This mask lacks a chin cross but there are two crosses on the cheeks that match the one on the forehead.

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This is another example of a mask with a widely open mouth, but no opening to the interior of the mask, apparently because it was not expected to be used by a dancer.

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This mask is 7½” tall,  5¾” wide, and 3¼” deep.

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I hope that you enjoyed seeing these Yaqui Pascola masks by Frank Martínez. Next week I will introduce you to the masks of Crisencio Molina Maldonado, of Potam Sonora.

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