Classic Period, 5th-7th century AD. A carved alabaster mask depicting a naturalistic human face, probably a dignitary or ruler with almond-shaped eyes, open mouth with thin lips, long ears with drilled lobes, broad nose with drilled nostrils; nicely worn from years of handling; natural cracks, inclusions and ancient deposits; two drilled holes on the reverse. See Berrin, K. and Pasztory, E., Teotihuacán: Art from the City of Gods, London and New York, Thames and Hudson, 1993; see Matos Moctezuma, E., Teotihuacán, New York, Rizzoli International, 1990. 200 grams, 10cm (4"). From the private collection of Mrs Maureen Ogle, Coarsegold, California, USA; acquired from a geologist, circa 2008; previously in a west coast collection, since the 1980s; ex Los Angeles collection, acquired in the 1970s-1980s, thence by descent; believed to have been acquired in Mexico, circa 1950s-1960s. The mask would have been created using hand tools; weathering and handling have eroded most of the original tool marks; no signs of modern tool marks or applied patina were found when the item was examined under a microscope. It is smaller than life-size and was probably originally intended for use in a burial ritual; the drilled holes on the reverse indicate that the mask could have been worn as a necklace or in ritual contexts.