ROMAN PERIOD, HADRIANIC, CIRCA FIRST HALF OF THE 2ND CENTURY A.D.

Produced in Egypt for a relatively short time during the Roman period, from the mid-1st Century A.D. to the 3rd Century A.D., mummy portraits present us with hauntingly life-like portraits, thought to be depicting the deceased at the age of their death. The panel would have been positioned over the head of the mummy and wrapped in place with linen bands. These are found throughout Egypt, however the most celebrated group are from the Fayum, thus lending to the entire group the popular nomenclature ‘Fayum portraits’.
The wood panel of the present example, still wrapped in the preserved linen, has been painted with vivid colours using the spatula for the wider strokes of the tunic and neck and fine, accurate brushstrokes for the minute details of the face and facial hair. It depicts a mature man with round face, thick curly hair brushed on the side, long beard partly covering the mouth and the ear, and round eyes with bush brows meeting on the bridge of the nose. He wears a white chiton with two clavi, now mostly faded. The style of his hair and beard is very close to the one fashioned by the Emperor Hadrian and helps us date this portrait with precision. Most panel portraits were removed from their wrappings, so the partial preservation of the linen in the present example is remarkable. For another portrait with similar technique depicting a bearded man and dating from the late Hadrianic period see E. Doxiadis, The Mysterious Fayum Portraits. Faces from Ancient Egypt, London, 1995, p. 184, no. 124.