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Details
LOT 0541
Egyptian Faience Beaded Mummy Mask
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 332-30 B.C.
4 3/4 in. (29.7 grams, 12 cm wide).
A restrung beadwork panel of small glazed composition beads in various colours representing a mummy face mask with false beard.
Provenance
Acquired on the UK art market before 2000.
Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.
Literature
Cf. Quibell, J.E. and Hayter, A.G.K., Excavations at Saqqara: Teti Pyramid, North Side, Cairo, 1927, pl. 6, no. 4, for an example on a mummy excavated at Saqqara.
Footnotes
Bead masks like this were attached to the outside of a mummy's wrappings and often formed part of an elaborate beaded feature covering the entire body.
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