ESCUTCHEON MASK

Description This hollow zoomorphic mask served as a knocker holder in a presumably funerary context. The mask has raised muzzle features, with applied elements such as the large forked horns that branch out laterally on the forehead: they are very sinuous and pointed, with a short upper branch. The monster has large, bulging eyes, bushy, downward-sloping eyebrows, pig-like ears, a broad, flat nose, and a huge, open, arched mouth with square teeth visible. The round snout is enriched by a pointed end at the top of the head, perhaps a third horn, and seven similar points arranged along the jaw. The horn and the tip under the chin, symmetrical, are painted the same black color. The apotropaic function of the mask is mediated by the expression between the sad and the good-natured of the creature.