Mummy Portraits
The mummy portraits are stunning, with production beginning around 30-40 CE.
Examples include portraits of an unknown woman (c.160-70) and a boy called Eutyches (c.100-150).
The Annual Report of the Director of the National Gallery for 1888 announced the display of three painted wooden panels.
- Almost two thousand years old
- Unearthed from Roman-period cemeteries in Hawara, Egypt
- Placed over the faces of mummies and integrated into their wrappings
Before arriving at the National Gallery, they were shown in the Egyptian Hall on Piccadilly.
Archaeologist W.M. Flinders Petrie exhibited his discoveries, overlooking a crowded display of complete mummies and other finds from the Fayum.
Author summary: Mummy portraits from ancient Egypt.