Mummy Mask, 332 BCE - 330 CE
Egypt, Africa
Linen, plaster, gold leaf and pigment; 15 × 12 3/…

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Mummy Mask

ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-masks

Date332 BCE - 330 CE

Made AtEgypt, Africa

MediumLinen, plaster, gold leaf, and pigment

Dimensions15 × 12 3/4 × 10 1/2 in. (38.1 × 32.4 × 26.7 cm)
Mount: 19 3/4 × 15 3/4 × 13 1/2 in. (50.2 × 40 × 34.3 cm)

Credit LineGift of Ramona Ward

Object number2003.38.1

DescriptionThis mummy mask was placed over a deceased body in combination with other cartonnage pieces such as a foot case and breast plate. Cartonnage (linen covered with plaster) coverings severed as protection to the body; additionally cartonnage masks provided an idealized portrait, in no sense a true likeness, of the deceased. This gilded mask is painted with figures of the gods Osiris and Isis, hieroglyphs and a red medallion at the crest of the head. The use of gold not only marks the status of the deceased but, is meant to emulate the golden skin of the gods.

Remarkably, a true portrait of the deceased remains embedded in this mask. A digital image of the interior reveals the face of the young deceased male, possibly achieved when the embalmers laid layers of linen and plaster over his face to form an impression for the mummy mask.

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