Mummy portrait of a woman

Summary

The well-preserved portrait of a young woman is executed in encaustic on a wooden panel with a brown/greyish background. A part of the panel, the left side, is missing. Originally, the panel was fastened on the face of a mummy. The hair and eyebrows of the woman are painted in black. Her lips are painted in a pinkish colour and her skin is rendered in colours of brown, pink, yellow and white. She is wearing garments in reddish and black colours and her necklace consists of a black chain and a golden pendant.

Description of object

The well-preserved portrait of a young woman is executed in encaustic on a wooden panel with a brown/greyish background. A part of the panel, the left side, is missing. Originally, the panel was fastened on the face of a mummy. The woman is portrayed in a three-quarter view. The woman is rendered with piled-up hair painted in black. The hair is wavy and the coiffure has a central parting. Her eyebrows are wide and painted in black. Her eyes are large and rendered in dark brown and eyelashes are indicated. Only the left ear is visible and it is rendered close to the head. The nose is straight and the cheeks are fleshy. Her mouth is rendered in pink and her lips are full. Her chin and her neck are wide. Her skin is rendered in colours of brown, pink, yellow and white. The young woman is wearing a reddish chiton with a rounded neckline. A mantle with black fringed edges is wrapped around her. Furthermore, she is wearing a necklace close to the neck. The necklace consists of a black chain with a central golden, rectangular-shaped pendant.

Choice of methods

Technical imaging

• UV
• VIL
• IR

Bibliography

(1892) Katalog zu Theodor Graf’s Gallerie antiker Porträts aus hellenistischer Zeit, Leipzig, 33, no. 86.

V. Schmidt (1908), Den ægyptiske Samling, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Kjøbehavn, E 529.

M. Mogensen (1930), Den ægyptiske Samling, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, København, A 592.

K. Parlasca (1966), Mümienporträts und verwandte Denkmäler, Deutsches Archäologisches Instituts, Wiesbaden, 246, no. 86, 268.

K. Parlasca (1969), Repertorio d’arte dell’Egitto greco-romano, a cura di A. Adriani, serie B vol. I di Klaus Parlasca, tavole 1-60, numeri 1-246, 43, no. 63, Tav. 16 (3).

B. Borg (1996), Mumienporträts, Chronologie und kulturelle Kontext, Deutsches Archäologisches Instituts, Mainz, 55 (Rep. 63), 222.

K. Parlasca & H. Seemann (1999), Augenblicke, Mumienporträts und ägyptische Grabkunst aus römischer Zeit, Eine Ausstellung der Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt 30. Januar bis 11. April 1999, München, 157, no. 55.

M. Jørgensen (2001), Egypt III, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, 338-339, cat. no. 38.