Brooklyn Museum: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Portrait of a Noblewoman

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Portrait of a Noblewoman

Roman Period mummy portraits were painted on wooden panels that were slipped into the mummy wrappings over the face of the deceased. Often, as here, the artists used melted wax as a medium, building up thick layers of pigment and highlighting the facial features with touches of white. Although painted in the naturalistic tradition of the Greco-Roman world, these images are idealized representations of the deceased, and they were used in a traditional Egyptian funerary context. This woman's dress, hairstyle, and jewelry show the influence of fashions at the Roman imperial court and reflect a desire to be understood as Romanized. However, there is no way to know whether her heritage was Egyptian, Mediterranean, or mixed.

Medium: Encaustic on wood
Place Made: Egypt
Dates: ca. 150 C.E.
Period: Roman Period
Dimensions: 17 5/16 x 11 5/16 x 1/8 in. (44 x 28.7 x 0.3 cm)
Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art
Museum Location: This item is on view in Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor
Accession Number: 86.226.18
Credit Line: Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.
Image: Overall, 86.226.18_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Portrait of a Noblewoman