Portrait Mask of a Mummified Young Man

Place of OriginEgypt, likely a necropolis Middle Egypt

Date2nd century CE

Dimensions10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm)

MediumStucco (plaster) with polychrome paint and gilding.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of Florence Scott Libbey

Object number

1925.652

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionThe mask portrays a young man with curly hair and a short beard. Such masks were part of the Greco-Roman tradition in Egypt, continuing the ancient practice of funerary masks. They were attached to the coffin lid, making the deceased appear to be reclining on a banquet couch. While they often look like individual portraits, they likely represent common types, such as a "young soldier". The beard and hairstyle are characteristic of the fashion made popular by the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

Label TextThis mummy mask represents a young man from Roman-era Egypt. It was not a portrait of a specific person, but an idealized face for the deceased, designed to magically grant them a perfect, divine appearance for the afterlife. The style, especially the curly hair and beard, was fashionable during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, allowing us to date it quite precisely. Made of painted and gilded plaster, the mask would have been placed over the head of a mummy, serving as a powerful ritual object in funerary ceremonies. This mask is a great example of cultural syncretism, the blending of different cultural traditions. It perfectly marries Roman style with Egyptian belief. The person commemorated was likely an elite member of Egyptian society who embraced the fashions of the Roman Empire but held onto the ancient Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife. The object is a tangible piece of this multicultural world, showing how people navigated complex identities.Published References

Luckner, Kurt T., "The Art of Egypt, Part 2," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, new series, vol. 14, no.3, Fall 1971, p. 77, 78, repr. fig. 21, p. 80.

Exhibition History

Toledo Museum of Art, The Egypt Experience: Secrets of the Tomb, October 29, 2010-January 8, 2012.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Mummies: From Egypt to Toledo, February 3- May 6, 2018.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Ägyptesche Altertümer aus der Skulptursammlung Dresden, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Ausstellung im Albertinum, 1977, p. 41, no. 57, (col.) pl. 81.