AN EGYPTIAN PAINTED PLASTER MUMMY MASK OF A GIRL

ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA 120-150 A.D.

Details

AN EGYPTIAN PAINTED PLASTER MUMMY MASK OF A GIRL
ROMAN PERIOD, CIRCA 120-150 A.D.
Her black plaited hair arranged in horizontal rows, her flesh pale orange-pink, the wide eyes with solid black pupils on white, the lashes individually drawn, the brows slightly-arching thick lines with hatching above and below, the small lips pursed into a smile
8 5/8 in. (21.9 cm.) high

Provenance

Private Collection, 1948.

Lot Essay

According to Walker and Bierbrier (Ancient Faces, Mummy Portraits from Roman Egypt, p. 131), "painted plaster masks derived from pharaonic traditions, in the sense that the mask served as a substitute for the head of the dead and a means of elevating him or her to immortal status."

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