Fayum Mummy Portrait of a Woman

Fayum Mummy Portrait of a Woman

Medium: Encaustic
Support: Wood
Size: 34.6 x 11.5 cm

Art period: Antiquity
National Gallery of Art
Object number: 1956.12.1

Quote from reference (1)

“Greco-Roman portraits are also known as ‘Fayum portraits’ or ‘Romano-Egyptian portraits’, and they are the oldest surviving portrait-paintings, mainly crafted on wooden supports. It is believed to depict images of real people who lived in Egypt during the Ptolemaic (323–30 BC) and the Roman rule (30 BC – fourth century AD). The style is typical of the fashion developed during the Roman Empire in Egypt from the middle of the first century BC to the early fourth century AD reflecting the Greek culture, education, and civic life. The panel painting under consideration is a funerary portrait of a noblewoman.

Her high socioeconomic status is denoted by 1) the elegant hairstyle dating to the period of the emperor Trajan of the second century AD; the purple tunic with clavus (a decorative stripe adorning the garment) and extensive jewelry and 2) the exceptional artistry and painterly execution of the painting with a highly-textured surface achieved by mixing the pigments in the binding medium, the blending and juxtaposition of the paint, and the application of the paint using different tools and methods. The woman depicted in this painting is framed by a yellow/green-yellow background, dressed in a purple tunic with a dark clavus on the right (proper) side. The tunic exhibits different shades of purple/red-purple to express shading, indicating a high level of skill in the painting technique. The jewelry consists of a pendant earring and three necklaces, inlaid with what appear to be pearls and gemstones.”

(1) Delaney, John & Dooley, Kathryn & Radpour, Roxanne & Kakoulli, Ioanna. (2017). Macroscale multimodal imaging reveals ancient painting production technology and the vogue in Greco-Roman Egypt. Scientific Reports. 7. 10.1038/s41598-017-15743-5.