Portrait of a Mummified Young Woman

Period Roman Period (Ancient Egyptian, 30 BCE - 330 CE)

Place of OriginEgypt, probably Fayum, possibly Hawara

Dateabout 50-250 CE

Dimensions13 1/8 x 8 1/2 in. (33.3 x 21.6 cm)

MediumTempera on linden wood panel.

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1971.130

On View

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

DescriptionA vertical, rectangular wooden panel with the upper corners cut at oblique angles. The painting depicts the bust of a young woman turned slightly to her left, gazing directly at the viewer. She has dark, curly hair parted in the middle, pulled back behind the ears, with small ringlets framing the forehead. She wears gold hoop earrings threaded with white pearls and dark beads, and a gold chain necklace featuring a crescent-shaped pendant (lunula). Her attire consists of a dark purple or crimson tunic (chiton) with black vertical stripes (clavi) visible on the right shoulder, and a white mantle (himation) draped over her shoulders. The flesh tones are modeled with highlights on the nose, forehead, and chin. The background is a neutral grey-brown. The lower edge of the panel is unpainted and abraded, showing bare wood and traces of the ground layer.

Label TextThis striking, naturalistic portrait was once bound over the face of a mummified body, serving to identify the deceased and ensure her transition to the afterlife. While the custom of mummification was Egyptian, the lifelike painting style was introduced by Romans and Greeks living in Egypt. The young woman is dressed in high Roman fashion, wearing a dark tunic with a white cloak draped over her shoulders. For several decades following its acquisition, the portrait was attributed to the 3rd century CE (the Severan period). However, comparative analysis of the hairstyle—parted in the center with side curls, lacking the severe braiding of later periods—and the specific jewelry types has led some scholars to propose a much earlier date in the mid-1st century CE.Published ReferencesLuckner, Kurt T., "The art of Egypt, Part 2," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, new series: vol. 14, no. 3, Fall 1971, p. 78-80, repr. fig. 22, and (col.) on cover.

"La Chronique des Arts," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 81, no. 1249, repr. p. 105.

Thompson, David L., "Four 'Fayum portraits' in the Getty Museum," The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, II, 1975, p. 92 [as 3rd century CE].

Buck, Richard D., and Robert F. Feller, "The examination and treatment of a Fayum portrait," Conservation of paintings and the graphic arts, Lisbon Congress 1972, London (ICC), 1972, pp. 801-207, repr. fig. 1-5.

Parlasca, Klaus, Repertorio d'arte dell'egitto Greco-Romano, Serie B, vol. II, no. 247, p. 29, repr. (col.) Tav. c.

Thompson, David, Mummy Portraits in the J.Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, The J. Paul Getty Museum, 1982, p. 6, fig. 7.

Nowicka, M. "Z problematyki portretów mumiowych = De la problématique des portraits de momies", Archeologia, vol. 35, 1984, p. 36, fig. 5.

Johnston-Feller, Ruth M. "Reflections on the phenomenon of fading" Journal of Coatings Technology, vol. 58, no. 736, May 1986, p. 331, fig. 2.

The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo treasures, Toledo, 1995, p. 51, repr. (col.).

Parlasca, Klaus. El-Fayum, Milano: Ricci, 1995, p. 68, pl. 69.

Borg, Barbara. Mumienporträts: Chronologie und kultureller Kontext, Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 1996, pp. 16, 59, 171.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 83, repr. (col.).

Peck, William H., Sandra E. Knudsen and Paula Reich, Egypt in Toledo: The Ancient Egyptian Collection at the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, 2011, p. 96, repr. (col.) p. 11, 96, (det.) p. 95.

Cucu, A.I., Corcoran, L.H., Perciaccante, A., Nerlich, A.G., & R. Bianucci., "Neuro-ophthalmological pathology in a ‘‘Portrait of a Young Woman’’ from Roman Egypt at the Toledo Museum of Art (USA)?", Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, vol. 32, August 2024, no. 100998, pp. 1-4.

Exhibition HistoryToledo, Toledo Museum of Art, The Egypt Experience: Secrets of the Tomb, October 29, 2010-January 8, 2012.Comparative ReferencesSee also Parlasca, Klaus, Mumien Porträts und Verwandte Denkmäler, Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag GMBH, 1966. The only monograph on Fayum portraits, a comprehensive catalogue of almost every portrait known.

See also Peck, William, Mummy Portraits from Roman Egypt, The Detroit Institute of Arts, 1967. A catalogue of an exhibition of most Fayuum portraits in American and Canadian collections.,

See also Shore, A.F., Portrait Painting from Roman Egypt, The British Museum, 1962.