Ancient Egypt, Ptolemaic Period, ca. 332 to 30 BCE. A beautiful mummy mask of highly stylized design carved from finely grained cedar which exhibits matte beige and caramel-brown hues. The stoic face has bulging cheek bones flanking a prominent nose, thin, red-painted lips with a delineated philtrum, a broad chin, and a headdress that sits low on the smooth brow. Layers of white gesso cover the entire visage and provide the ground atop which vibrant pigments are displayed. Black stripes outline the almond-shaped eyes to imbue them with a piercing presentation, and the headdress bears vertical black and white stripes separated by thin red bands. Remains of four dowels are still present inside their original dowel holes and illustrate how the mask attached to a coffin lid. Size: 7.8" W x 10.4" H (19.8 cm x 26.4 cm)
The mask was an essential part of the mummy, placed over the head to provide an idealized image of the deceased as they would be resurrected. This mask and others like it were traditionally carved from cedar. Interestingly, cedar wood was not native to Egypt. Egypt did not have verdant forests filled with tall trees, and unfortunately most of its native lumber was of relatively poor quality. So they relied on importing to acquire hardwoods - ebony imported from Africa, cedar and pine from Lebanon. One fabulous obelisk inscription by Thutmose III attests to the luxury of treasured hardwoods. It reads as follows, "They brought to me the choicest products . . . consisting of cedar, juniper and of meru wood . . . all the good sweet woods of God's Land." (Obelisk inscription by Thutmose III - J. H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, Part Two, p. 321)
Provenance: private Severna Park, Maryland, USA collection, acquired in 2013 at an auction for the estate of Bernard Chaet (1924-2012), Yale Professor who collected in the 1960's to 1990's
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#161190
Condition
Nicks and abrasions to peripheries and verso, with chipping to painted gesso along face and peripheries, expected fading to pigment, and inactive insect damage, otherwise intact and excellent. Great remains of painted gesso across obverse.