Artisan Crafted Copper and Bronze Wall Mask, "Warrior God in Tears"

This mask represents Ai Apaec, a mythical figure honored by the Moche culture. The design itself is adapted from the breastplates worn by high-ranking Inca men as found in Andean tombs. Ana Maria Enciso shapes the expression from a combination of copper and bronze, employing galvanized colors to complement the metallic surface. A singular Peruvian adornment for any space.

At Huaca de la Luna, a ceremonial structure found on the western flanks of Cerro Blanco in Peru, archaeologists discovered a polychromatic relief panel depicting Ai Apaec, the supreme god of the ancient Moche culture. The image is characterized by his feline attributes, mythical mask, prominent eyebrows, agape mouth, and sharp, aggressive fangs. Black scrolls surround his face while a rhombus appears at the center, bordered in stylish bands representative of manta rays. Ai Apaec is identified with the ideologies inherited from the epic of the Chavin and complemented by other deities, such as the serpent, the condor, or the eagle, representative of Andean culture. It is suggested that his influence is primarily cosmic and that Ai Apaec was actually a constellation in the sky.