<em>Mummy Mask</em>, 150–200 C.E. Plaster, pigment, 9 7/16 x 7 1/16 x 5 1/2 in. (24 x 18 x 14 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 05.392. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 05.392_PS9.jpg)

Mummy Mask, 150–200 C.E. Plaster, pigment, 9 7/16 x 7 1/16 x 5 1/2 in. (24 x 18 x 14 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 05.392. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 05.392_PS9.jpg)

Mummy Mask, 150–200 C.E. Plaster, pigment, 9 7/16 x 7 1/16 x 5 1/2 in. (24 x 18 x 14 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 05.392. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.05.392_NegA_print_bw.jpg)

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If this mask was made in 175 CE, how does it look new?

Well, the conditions in the desert have preserved it. To preserve an object it is best to have no water and no light. Since the Egyptian desert is very dry and this was probably buried in a dark dark tomb, that helps to keep it looking like new.

We are confused, is this "mask" an actual impression of a dead person's face? Like a plaster cast for example that would depict a realistic mold of a person?

This mask and the others that you'll see in our ancient Egyptian galleries are not casts of the deceased, but rather sculpted faces meant to represent the deceased.

This example, from the Roman period, likely shows a fair amount of similarity to the man it actually represents.

Earlier, in the pharaonic period, sculpted faces followed trends in facial features and proportions often started by the king at the time. They didn't really resemble the person that they represented so inscriptions were very important to identify a portrait.

Ah ok thank you!

Mummy Mask

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Changing Faces of the Ancient Nile Valley

Despite the common belief that Egyptian artists were reluctant to change, close examination of works produced over many generations shows that they could be quite innovative in artistic style— the distinctive features of aesthetic expression characterizing a period.

The chief royal sculptor, responsible for official images of the king, usually developed at least one standard “court style.” But styles often varied from one dynasty to the next, and two or more styles often evolved during a single dynasty or even a single reign.

Several forces could result in a new style. A pharaoh’s death could motivate the chief royal sculptor to devise a fresh “standard” for depicting his successor. The replacement of one chief sculptor by another might also inspire innovation. Or perhaps young carvers reacted to the teachings of the chief sculptor, introducing subtle modifications that, over time, became an entirely new style.

The carved heads in this case and in the one on the right, spanning more than three thousand years, demonstrate clear changes in stylistic expression.

MEDIUM Plaster, pigment

Possible Place Made: Middle Egypt, Egypt

DATES 150–200 C.E.

PERIOD Roman Period

DIMENSIONS 9 7/16 x 7 1/16 x 5 1/2 in. (24 x 18 x 14 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 05.392

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Life size painted plaster mask of a man, from a coffin or cartonnage. Inlaid eyes, curled hair, small beard and moustache. Technique: Eyes inlaid, opaque white glass with dark brown opaque glass pupils, eyebrows painted black. Small moustache painted on upper lip. Beard is modelled and runs down cheek in slender strip toward the chin, stops and is resumed on chin. Hair at forehead modelled in long way locks; on top of head modelled in short curls. Flesh painted pink. Ears flare slightly. Workmanship of excellent quality. Condition: Perfect except for slight crack running from the right ear to forehead. A cross bar has been inserted in back between the ears, presumably in the Museum, for installation. Dating: Treatment of hair and beard together with the use of opaque glass inlays for eyes points to about the time of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius (138-161 A.D.) as the probably date. Impossible to determine angle at which head was intended to rest as back is completely missing but probably it was elevated slightly.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Mummy Mask, 150–200 C.E. Plaster, pigment, 9 7/16 x 7 1/16 x 5 1/2 in. (24 x 18 x 14 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 05.392. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 05.392_PS9.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 05.392_PS9.jpg., 2019

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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