Maya jade masks make their world premiere in Denmark

Rare Maya jade masks that have never been exhibited before are going on public display at Moesgaard Museum in Aarhus from 9 October, DR reports. The museum calls the exhibition a world premiere.

The masks are on loan from Mexico’s national institute INAH. Green jade was more important than gold in Maya culture, and the stones form the basis of the masks’ mosaics.

The exhibition focuses on Maya culture from 250 to 900 CE. Maya people still exist today, but the period on display is the ancient culture, Moesgaard Museum content manager Mads Ravn said. He described the objects as “exceptional finds” and said the culture developed much further than Europe’s at the time.

The masks come from the Snake Dynasty, described by Moesgaard as one of the most powerful ruling dynasties. One belonged to the dynasty’s founder, Yuknom Ch’en I, who ruled from about 402 to 455 CE. Another came from the tomb of Himmelvidne, a ruler from 571 to 595 CE.

The masks were placed in rulers’ tombs. Jade was used because Maya people believed life would flow back into the dead and grant them eternal life among the gods. The exhibition also includes 200 other objects from Maya culture, loaned from other museums.