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Lot Essay
Painted on a lilac background, the deceased is portrayed wearing a white tunic with two narrow pink clavi descending vertically from each shoulder. The left part of the neck of the tunic is delineated with a thin red line. His left hand is raised, holding a bunch of red grapes (symbol of fertility) with three green leaves, the right hand is held horizontally holding a funerary garland, probably made of rose petals. His hair is curly and short, the eyebrows are thin and arched above his wide-opened eyes, staring somewhat above the viewer, the mouth is small. His face displays a rosy skin tone and, being slightly turned to the left, the right ear is better detailed than the left one.
Only part of the deceased is represented (the white of the tunic stops under the hands) as shrouds were often made to cover only the upper body of the mummy. Though rare encaustic examples have survived, most shrouds were painted in tempera (pigments suspended in animal glue like eggs), which dries quickly and thus demands rapid execution. Faster and more affordable than encaustic (pigments suspended in wax), tempera came to be widely used from the late 3rd and all through the 4th century AD.
The painter of our example displays good anatomical sense and the wide-opened eyes, rounded chin and long elegant fingers capture a feeling of poignant immediacy and individuality. For a tempera on linen shroud with similar iconography, see D. L. Thompson, Mummy Portraits in the J. Paul Getty Museum, p. 60-61, no. 13 who says "what paintings like that […] lack in aesthetic sophistication, however, they make up for in directness and spontaneity."
This shroud is unusual in preserving six linen strips that were used to attach the painting to the mummy.
Only part of the deceased is represented (the white of the tunic stops under the hands) as shrouds were often made to cover only the upper body of the mummy. Though rare encaustic examples have survived, most shrouds were painted in tempera (pigments suspended in animal glue like eggs), which dries quickly and thus demands rapid execution. Faster and more affordable than encaustic (pigments suspended in wax), tempera came to be widely used from the late 3rd and all through the 4th century AD.
The painter of our example displays good anatomical sense and the wide-opened eyes, rounded chin and long elegant fingers capture a feeling of poignant immediacy and individuality. For a tempera on linen shroud with similar iconography, see D. L. Thompson, Mummy Portraits in the J. Paul Getty Museum, p. 60-61, no. 13 who says "what paintings like that […] lack in aesthetic sophistication, however, they make up for in directness and spontaneity."
This shroud is unusual in preserving six linen strips that were used to attach the painting to the mummy.