<em>Portrait of a Young Person</em>, 200–230 C.E. Wood, tempera, 11 3/16 x 6 3/16 in. (28.4 x 15.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 54.197 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 54.197_edited_SL3.jpg)

Portrait of a Young Person, 200–230 C.E. Wood, tempera, 11 3/16 x 6 3/16 in. (28.4 x 15.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 54.197 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 54.197_edited_SL3.jpg)

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All of these have a strong stylistic consistency. Same artist?

Good eye. Not all by the same artist but produced during the same period and in the same region in Egyptian history, the Roman period. They reflect the multicultural nature of the society at the time. These would have been attached onto the faces of human mummies. Around 900 such mummy portraits are known today and they are referred to as "Fayum portraits" Named after the Fayum Oasis south of Cairo where most of them were found.

Do we know for sure different artist? Do we know names of artists or dates?

We do know for sure that they were produced by different artists because they range in date from 95 to 230 CE and were found at different sites.

It's not surprising that they are similar though. Egyptian art through time tends to follow relatively rigid iconographical schemes. These portraits were likely coming out of workshops where many artisans were trained to produce them in very similar styles.

What is this?

That is what is called a Fayum portrait. Some people who lived in the Fayum and surrounding regions in the Roman Period were buried with portraits like this placed over the face of the mummy.

The portrait would have been included in the mummy's wrappings, over where the head would lie.

It looks a lot more stylized than the other burial portraits. Why might that be?

This style is typical of portraits found in a particular cemetery near er-Rubiyat in the Fayum region of Egypt. It may be the work of one particular artist or simply a stylistic preference. It’s also worth noting that this portrait, and the other one like it, is painted with tempera, an egg-based paint, whereas the other examples of Fayum portraits we have are painted with encaustic, a wax-based paint.

Thanks again!

Tell me more.

This portrait would have been set into a linen wrapped mummy, resting over where the face of the deceased would be.

It's a great reflection of the way cultures blended during this period of Roman rule in ancient Egypt.

This is a portrait of a girl. She holds a wine glass and a garland of flowers—an offering to the deceased and a symbol of rebirth.

Portrait of a Young Person

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

MEDIUM Wood, tempera

DATES 200–230 C.E.

PERIOD Roman Period

DIMENSIONS 11 3/16 x 6 3/16 in. (28.4 x 15.7 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 54.197

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

EXHIBITIONS

Ancient Egyptian Art

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Portrait of a Young Person, 200–230 C.E. Wood, tempera, 11 3/16 x 6 3/16 in. (28.4 x 15.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 54.197 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 54.197_edited_SL3.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 54.197_edited_SL3.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2015

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