Day 37 - Greco-Roman Egyptian mummy
March 26, 2018
Gallery 137 contains objects from the Roman period, from 30 B.C. well into the third century A.D. What is particularly interesting to me is the incorporation of classical forms and features into traditional Egyptian funerary customs.
This is evident in today's object, the mummy of a young man dating from 80-100 A.D. To be honest, I am not absolutely sure what I'm looking at. I take it that this is the wrapped body with a painted portrait head. But was it placed on a wooden form cut to fit it for display purposes, or was this how it was originally found? Since I would estimate the whole form to be 9 feet long, it is clearly more than life-size.
The body is elaborately wrapped in what appears to be a pattern of diamond -shaped linen, which is overlaid with wider diagonal bands. This must have taken a lot of time and been a very expensive process. All of this is very Egyptian.
But the face, painted in encaustic (a term I had to look up - it involves mixing pigment with hot wax and "setting" the painting through heat), is that of a young man whom one might expect to see in a Greek or Roman painting -- or a Renaissance image. The flesh tones of his face stand out from the dark ground, and the shadows along his jaw line and under his eyes are carefully modeled. He looks very Mediterranean - tan, with large dark eyes (and dots of white in the pupils!) and thick brows. He has the beginnings of a mustache. He looks out seriously at us, his mouth slightly pouty- and who wouldn't be sulky and sad at being cut down in the prime of life?
His most striking feature, however - to me, anyway - is the wreath of acanthus (laurel?) leaves he wears on his short- cropped hair. This feels like a marker of status, accomplishment, and dignity. He is, in short, the very model of a Greco-Roman-Egyptian young gentleman.
This is evident in today's object, the mummy of a young man dating from 80-100 A.D. To be honest, I am not absolutely sure what I'm looking at. I take it that this is the wrapped body with a painted portrait head. But was it placed on a wooden form cut to fit it for display purposes, or was this how it was originally found? Since I would estimate the whole form to be 9 feet long, it is clearly more than life-size.
The body is elaborately wrapped in what appears to be a pattern of diamond -shaped linen, which is overlaid with wider diagonal bands. This must have taken a lot of time and been a very expensive process. All of this is very Egyptian.
But the face, painted in encaustic (a term I had to look up - it involves mixing pigment with hot wax and "setting" the painting through heat), is that of a young man whom one might expect to see in a Greek or Roman painting -- or a Renaissance image. The flesh tones of his face stand out from the dark ground, and the shadows along his jaw line and under his eyes are carefully modeled. He looks very Mediterranean - tan, with large dark eyes (and dots of white in the pupils!) and thick brows. He has the beginnings of a mustache. He looks out seriously at us, his mouth slightly pouty- and who wouldn't be sulky and sad at being cut down in the prime of life?
His most striking feature, however - to me, anyway - is the wreath of acanthus (laurel?) leaves he wears on his short- cropped hair. This feels like a marker of status, accomplishment, and dignity. He is, in short, the very model of a Greco-Roman-Egyptian young gentleman.
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