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Source Description
In Roman Egypt (30 BCE-324 CE), artists adapted naturalistic painting styles to the ancient custom of making portrait masks for mummies. The portraits were often painted while the subject was in the prime of life and were hung in the home until the person's death. This practice continued in northern Egypt well into the Early Byzantine period. Hairstyles can be used to date female portrait masks. Here, the braids wound over the top of the head place the mask close to the period of the Roman emperor Trajan (AD 98-117). The painting of a portrait was an occasion for all finery to be displayed, and this woman is seen wearing a pearl and emerald necklace and earrings.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
5872
label
Panel Portrait of a Woman
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
5872
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
Panel Portrait of a Woman
description
In Roman Egypt (30 BCE-324 CE), artists adapted naturalistic painting styles to the ancient custom of making portrait masks for mummies. The portraits were often painted while the subject was in the prime of life and were hung in the home until the person's death. This practice continued in northern Egypt well into the Early Byzantine period. Hairstyles can be used to date female portrait masks. Here, the braids wound over the top of the head place the mask close to the period of the Roman emperor Trajan (AD 98-117). The painting of a portrait was an occasion for all finery to be displayed, and this woman is seen wearing a pearl and emerald necklace and earrings.
provenance
Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1912, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
2nd century CE (Roman Imperial)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
mummy portraits
death masks
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
44
height
18.9
depth
1.4
dimensionsRaw
H: 17 5/16 x W: 7 7/16 x D: 9/16 in. (44 x 18.9 x 1.4 cm)
Source extras
cul
Roman
dynasty
Antonine Dynasty
med
encaustic (wax and pigments) on wood, cloth
creator_ids
6182
collection_ids
ROM
exhibition_ids
1954
2718
2821
3193
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
d770e92cc27c1fab