Q:  Just got this mask and have searched 1000’s of pages on the net and cant even find where it may be from please help!  Anne, 689 A:  Tourist masks (also called decoratives) have been made in Guerrero, Mexico, for more than a 100 years. They’re always antiqued to look old and used. By the 1960’s their designs were getting more elaborate and experimental. I have never seen one like yours and may not ever again. They still appeal to certain types of art collectors. Perhaps you would like to go this route, but be careful not to pay too much money for them. They don’t hold their value well.

Q: I have a lot of very good Mexican Dance masks that I bought from a collector in Mexico City when I lived there a few years ago but I don’t have one of these http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=301332462024. Could it possibly be worth this kind of money?  Christophe, 687 A:  This is indeed a very desirable mask. It is called a Parachico and is made in Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico.

Q:  Nathan D. suggested that I contact you regarding the pair of masks that I bought from a well known financier’s estate. He purchased them from a gallery in NYC in the late 70’s. I was told by his son that they are “Mexican Death Masks”, but everyone that I have shown them to, has no idea what they are and has never seen anything like them. I am an African art collector but was so fascinated by them that I had to have them. They are constructed of hand painted thick, leather, genuine goat horns and goat hair, I believe. The insides of the masks are woven. The black…

Q:  Can you tell me something about this triple head (man and some type of animals) mask.  Made of wood.  I don’t know anything about it but need to sell it and want to say the truth about the mask.  Thanks,  Tina, 682 A:  About 40 years ago I bought my first mask. It was an inexpensive but very colorful piece that was made by the same group of carvers in Guerrero, Mexico, that made yours.