Pacal Mask

Replica of Pacal mask SMALL of 13X11 cm or 5 1/4X 4.5 inches; MEDIUM size of 17X13.5 cm or 6 3/4 X 5 1/2 inches and LARGE size  of 23X18.cm or 8 3/4X 7 1/4 inches.

This is a reproduction of the funeral mask of King Pacal, Palenque. It was found in the “Templo de las Inscripciones” in Palenque, Mexico. The original was put on the face of the dead king, who was one of the most important leaders in the mayan history.

Jade masks like this were important to the mayan culture, as jade was their stone of heaven. The open mouth symbolizes the transformation to the other world, as the maya believed, that the soul leaves the body through the mouth. That is why many funerary masks show an open mouth. Some have a piece of Jade in it.  The original mask was a mosaic mask, made out of Jade, mother of pearl and obsidian.