Ronal Sanchez Santa Cruz (Peruvian) Saqra Boar...

Updated August 22, 2026

with Sacred Serpent Master Hand-Crafted Ceremonial Dance Mask. This extraordinary <b>Saqra Boar with Sacred Serpent</b> is a completely original and individually hand-crafted ceremonial mask by recognized Peruvian master mask maker <b>Ronal Sanchez Santa Cruz</b>. Created within the celebrated mask-making tradition of Paucartambo, Cusco, the work is associated with the <b>Saqra dance</b> performed during the annual festivities honoring the <b>Virgen del Carmen</b>. The mask presents a fantastic boar-like Saqra with enormous pointed ears, a projecting snout, blazing red-and-orange eyes, sharp white teeth, and prominent curved tusks. Its exaggerated features produce an expression that is simultaneously fierce, mischievous, theatrical, and full of movement-the essential visual character of the Saqras who animate the streets and rooftops of Paucartambo during the festival. A vivid green serpent with white spotted markings crosses the forehead, coils over the bridge of the snout, and descends toward the nose. This sculptural element introduces a striking sense of motion and intensifies the mask's supernatural appearance, suggesting transformation, temptation, and the untamed forces of the natural world. The deep brown and burgundy surface is enriched with hundreds of fine golden lines that follow the contours of the ears, brows, cheeks, muzzle, lips, and jaw. These radiant accents emphasize the complex modeling of the face and create a dramatic visual effect when the mask is viewed under light or in motion. The asymmetrical turn of the head, raised ears, open mouth, projecting tusks, and curling serpent give the sculpture a remarkable three-dimensional presence. Unlike a purely frontal decorative mask, this work appears animated from multiple angles, preserving the energy and theatricality for which the Saqra dance is renowned. Within the Virgen del Carmen festivities, the Saqras embody a playful and unsettling world of temptation and disorder surrounding the sacred procession. Their spectacular masks, costumes, music, and acrobatic movements create a dramatic contrast between religious devotion and popular imagination. This original example captures that complex character while standing independently as a powerful work of contemporary Peruvian ceremonial art. Every mask created by the master is individually modeled and painted by hand. Differences in anatomy, expression, sculptural ornament, and coloration ensure that each piece is unique rather than mechanically reproduced. Its visual force makes it especially desirable for collectors of Latin American masks, ceremonial and theatrical art, dance traditions, and master Peruvian craftsmanship. <b>ARTIST</b> Ronal Sanchez Santa Cruz is a recognized master mask maker from Paucartambo, Cusco. He began learning the craft during his youth and specializes in expressive masks associated with the traditional dances performed during the Virgen del Carmen festivities. His knowledge of the festival's cha

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