Mascapaicha

The Mascapaicha or Maskaypacha (Quechua: "Maskhay", search and "Pacha", space or time) was the royal crown of the Emperor of the Tawantinsuyu, more commonly known as the Inca Empire.

The Mascaipacha was the imperial symbol, worn only by the Sapa Inca as King of Cusco and Emperor of the Tahuantinsuyo.

It was decorated with gold threads and a tuft bearing two or three upright feathers from the mountain caracara, a sacred bird called corequenque in Spanish, it was the physical expression of ultimate political power in the Inca Empire.

In some ceremonies the Sapa Inca carried the Mascaipacha in his hand, while he wore a war head-dress (a feather-decorated helmet).

The coronation ceremony was carried out when the predecessor Sapa Inca died and it was necessary for the auqui (crown prince) to assume his functions as the new sovereign.