ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Mummy Mask

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodRoman Period

Date1st - 2nd century CE

MediumLinen, gesso, palm fiber, pigment

Credit LineGift of Joseph A. Lewis II and Sofi Lewis

Dimensions14 15/16 x 8 1/4 in. (38 x 21 cm)

Object number2013.043.008

Label TextThis mask is made from molded cartonnage with plaster elements. While it has much in common with earlier mummy masks, this Roman period example reflects a growing interest in incorporating contemporary fashions and naturalistic details. Most striking is the realistic "hair" made from black-dyed plant fibers. Loose hair was associated with beauty, fertility, and goddesses such as Isis and Hathor. A crown of two converging uraeus serpents, painted pink and blue, serves as a traditional Egyptian protective symbol. The face is idealized rather than a portrait of a specific individual. It is painted yellow to imitate gold, a material associated with divinity in Egyptian belief, while the arms are painted with a natural skin tone.

The figure wears a tunic and fringed shawl typical of Roman period Egypt. The tunic's blue, black, and red stripes imitate embroidered cloth. The edge of the shawl is tied into an Isis knot. A necklace of blue beads, probably meant to represent faience, hangs around the neck. At its center is a crescent-shaped amulet called a lunula, a type of ornament worn by girls and unmarried women in Roman society, which was once painted yellow to imitate gold. Molded plaster breasts emphasize femininity, fertility, and rebirth.

At the bottom of the mask is a framed scene showing the deceased's mummy resting on a boat. Seated jackals on either side likely represent the gods Anubis and Wepwawet, who guided and protected the deceased’s transition to the afterlife.
Exhibition HistoryMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, 2007-2013
Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient Egypt, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 10 - November 11, 2018
Published ReferencesAsja Müller, Ägyptens schöne Gesichter : die Mumienmasken der römischen Kaiserzeit und ihre Funktion im Totenritual (Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 2021), 334.
Carlo Rindi Nuzzolo, The Excavations at Ismant Al-Kharab in Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. Volume I, Roman Period Cartonnage from the Kellis 1 Cemetery (Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2023), 180, figure 5.12.

Terms

ProvenanceWith Archea Ancient Art, Amsterdam, Netherlands, acquired from Swiss art market. Ex coll. Harer Family Trust, San Bernardino, California, purchased from Archea Ancient Art, 1997. On loan to Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (L-R 317.1997), Boston, Massachusetts, 2007 - 2013. Ex coll. Joseph and Sofi Lewis, United States, purchased from Harer Family Trust, 2007.

Status

Not on view

Collections

Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art

Technical NotesVisible-induced Infrared Luminescence (VIL) imaging revealed the presence of Egyptian Blue pigment, correlating with areas that appear blue in visible light.