Details

LOT 0001

Egyptian Gilt Cartonnage Mummy Mask

LATE PERIOD, 664-332 BC

16" (285 grams, 41 cm).

A cartonnage mummy mask covered with gesso and decorated with panels of gilding; the facial details modelled in the round and delineated in black pigment with white in the eyes; red outline band to the Nemes crown striped headcloth; professionally conserved.

Provenance

UK art market, acquired prior to 1980.

Literature

See Aufderheide, A.C. The Scientific Study of Mummies, Cambridge, 2003.

Footnotes

Mummy masks were placed directly over the wrapped mummy, presenting an idealised portrayal of the person. The facial detail was considered important, and was believed to assist the passage of the deceased through the chambers of the underworld.

CONDITION