3 Vintage Mexican Cojo Masks, Danza Correr del Pocho (Auction 2026-06-05, Lot 252)

$1,220.75

Latin America, Mexico, Veracruz, ca. mid-20th century CE. A rare grouping of three similar wooden festival masks known as Cojo, used in the Danza Correr del Pocho. Unlike most masks of this type found on the market, these masks are vintage and actually danced in festivals – not made for the tourist markets. The masks are simple with elongated faces, pronounced sloping noses, and eye slits. All are painted with a pigment that creates a smooth, metallic sheen. La Danza Correr del Pocho is a traditional Mayan ritual performed during Carnival and the saints holiday of Tenosique, centered on the defeat of the pre-Christian god Pocho, later characterized as evil by missionaries. The dance includes three main characters, cojoes, pochoveras, and tigres, who perform to flute and drum music, with the cojoes wearing wooden masks and leaf-adorned costumes to avoid recognition by Pocho, and in the narrative they ultimately defeat him by extinguishing his fire. Size of largest: 8.5″ L x 6″ W (21.6 cm x 15.2 cm)

Provenance: private collection of S. Saunders, Nogales Arizona, USA collection

Condition: Scuffs, discoloration, and abrasions. Chips to high pointed areas, such as noses. Stable pressure fissures on the chins. Some bubbling to pigments from application.