warrior wearing crocodile mask

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

This is a Central Caribbean figure of a warrior wearing a crocodile mask, AD 700-1000.

Learn more about "Cerámica de los Ancestros: Central America’s Past Revealed," a collaborative exhibition from Smithsonian Latino Center and the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian: http://s.si.edu/ceramica

Photo: Brian Ireley, Smithsonian