Today I will continue to show Xipe Totec style (or “geometric”) Xantolo masks.
I got this large mask from Jaled Muyaes and Estela Ogazón in 1998. It is from San Icantitla, in the Municipio of Huazalingo, Hidalgo. I can not find San Icantitla on a map; it must be a very small place.
We see again the mouth within a mouth design that I am labeling as a depiction of an ancient Aztec god, Xipe Totec.
We also see scars and geometric designs, other features of this style. This mask is large, at 10 inches tall, 7¼ inches wide, and 4½ inches deep.
The patina on the back of this mask is beautiful.
Here is a YouTube™ video from another town in the municipio of Huazalingo, Hidalgo. In this performance we see more contemporary mask designs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipuL0M0yFqI
Here is a Xipe style mask that was never painted. I got this from Rene´Bustamante in 1993. It was said to be from El Nante, in the municipio of Altapexco, Hidalgo, but I doubt that it was made there.
Particularly notable is the corrugated mustache. It might be by the same carver as the one above, but it is slightly dfferent from his usual style.
This mask is more normal in size, at 8½ inches tall, 6½ inches wide, and 3¾ inches deep.
The back demonstrates excellent wear.
In sharp contrast to the last mask, this next one has many colors. The image of a mouth within a mouth is particularly dramatic on this example.
I got this mask from René Bustamante in 1992. It was found in Jojutla, Hidalgo.
This mask is 8½ inches tall, 5¾ inches wide, and 2½ inches deep.
The back has a distinctive shape and demonstrates excellent wear.
Here is another unpainted mask of the Xipe type. I got this at the American Primitive Gallery, in Manhatten, in 1994. It has a sooty smell, as if it had hung from the rafters over a smoky fire. It came without provenance but is obviously from the Huasteca of Hidalgo. The color of this mask is particularly suggestive of a layer of skin.
Like some other masks that we have examined, this one has silver teeth that were created by the application of foil from a cigarette package.
This mask is 8 inches tall, 5½ inches wide, and 3¼ inches deep.
The sooty coating on the back is visible in this photo.
Next week I will conclude my review of the Xipe Totec style masks.