Face of a Mummy Mask

Summary

All that remains of this mummy mask is the face, the ears and part of the crown of the head, while the chest and the neck are lost.

Description of object

The face is that of a young woman with wavy hair on the crown of the head and curls over the forehead and at the temples. The mask is modelled in plaster, which has a supportive backing of linen and the surface of the front is gilded. The inlaid eyes have been executed in copper, limestone and glass. The fragment was acquired in Egypt in 1895 and probably comes from Hawara, where masks with similar faces have been found. The dating is based on the elaborate coiffure, which follows Roman fashion during the reigns of Claudius (41-54) and Nero (54-68).

Choice of methods

Technical imaging

• UV
• IR

Sampling

• Cross section
• Proteomics
• SEM/EDX
• FT-IR

Bibliography

Jørgensen, M. Egypt III : Coffins, Mummy Adornments and Mummies from the Third Intermediate, Late, Ptolemaic and the Roman Periods (1080 BC – AD 400): Catalogue: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek; 2001.

Müller A. Ägyptens schöne Gesichter : die Mumienmasken der Römischen Kaiserzeit und ihre Funktion im Totenritual. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 2021.