Catrin (Dandy) mask
Nahua people, Tlaxcala, Mexico
Wood, gesso, paint
7 x 6.5 x 5 inches (17.8 x 16.5 x 12.7 cm)
1950s-60s

This mask is called the Catrin or Dandy and was danced as a form of ridicule of the wealthy Spaniards who colonized the region. It may well have been made by the hand of Carlos Reyes Acoltzi, of Tlatempan, Tlaxcala, as the back is painted with his typical blue-green paint, and there are remnants of the fabulous eyelashes and glass eyes that were manipulated by a string threaded through the hole in the chin. The mask sports a fancy mustache and beauty mark, rosy cheeks and dimples.
#3796

$1100