Collection
/
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Mummy Mask of a Man

early 1st century C.E.

1 of 18

Object Label

Egyptian men living under Roman rule used mummy masks that combined contemporary and traditional elements. This example features wavy locks of black hair, a Roman fashion at this time. The protective winged scarab on top decorates a traditional headdress adorned with lappets containing images of the deceased’s mummy before Osiris, god of the dead. The face is unlined and ageless, also a traditional element.

Caption

Mummy Mask of a Man, early 1st century C.E.. Stucco, gold leaf, pigment, 20 x 12 x 7 1/4 in., 7.5 lb. (50.8 x 30.5 x 18.4 cm, 3.4kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 72.57. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 72.57_SL1.jpg)

Title

Mummy Mask of a Man

Date

early 1st century C.E.

Period

Roman Period

Geography

Place made: Egypt

Medium

Stucco, gold leaf, pigment

Classification

Sculpture

Dimensions

20 x 12 x 7 1/4 in., 7.5 lb. (50.8 x 30.5 x 18.4 cm, 3.4kg)

Credit Line

Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number

72.57

Rights

Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

Frequent Art Questions

  • How did they make the colors?

    The Ancient Egyptians would have used soot for the black, malachite for the greens and the very rare lapis lazuli for the blues! The gold is made out of gold.

  • What are the figures? Do they represent the person's tattoos?

    In ancient Egyptian art, every image has a symbolic meaning. They are not tattoos, but decorations that the ancient Egyptians believed could help them get the afterlife.
    The two seated men in the same position are both Osiris, the King of the Afterlife. This man wanted to be associated with the god Osiris in order to make it easier for him to get into the afterlife.
    Oh, I see. Thank you!

  • It seems every mummy has its own mask.

    Many did! It is important to remember that a lot of what you see in our galleries represents elite members of society. That being said, there are vast numbers of mummy masks that have survived from ancient Egypt. Every mummy would have had some kind of identifying feature.

  • Tell me more.

    This mummy mask demonstrates one way that Roman style was combined with Egyptian beliefs. It is covered in Egyptian symbols and gods, but did you notice the man's Roman-style hair peeking out from under the headdress? The use of gold demonstrates the man's wealth, but interestingly the imagery is condensed. What you see in this bust-length mask was once spread over the whole body.

  • Who is this

    We haven't been able to identify him since there isn't an inscription with his name. That's why its called mummy mask of a man. We do know that his person must have been quite wealthy to afford a mummy mask like this.
    A few stylistic elements, especially the soft, curly hair peeking out from under his headdress, help identify the time period when this was made, early in the period that Rome controlled Egypt.

Have information?

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