Mummy Mask of a Woman (Primary Title)
Romano-Egyptian Mummy Mask (Alternate Title)
Unknown (Artist)
This beautiful, evocative face is not a true portrait but cast from a mold and individualized with glass eyes and pigment (which even highlights her eyebrows, eyelashes, and nostrils!). The head was originally attached to a mummy board placed over the deceased, an Egyptian tradition dating to the First Intermediate Period (ca. 2000 BC), but the hairstyle dates this example to the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117–138), when Egyptian-grown grain fed the Roman Empire.
Roman Period
Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
