Date:
Graeco-Roman Period, Roman Period, reign of Nero (68–69 CE)
Provenance:
Unknown (purchased from Vinga)
Material(s):
Man made material, plaster
This artifact was part of the temporary collections borrowed from the Graeco-roman Museum (Alexandria) as from 21 July 2008. It was returned to the Graeco-Roman Museum on 9 May 2023.
Description
A mask of colored gypsum for a Roman woman in her thirties. The eyes and eyebrows are painted, but now they show no trace of color. The hair is done in two levels of spiral curls and flows back in the form of long tight curls on both sides of the neck that reach the shoulders. This hairstyle indicates that the mask belongs to Nero’s reign.
The information given here is subject to modification/update as a result of ongoing research.
References
- Evaristo Breccia, Le musée Gréco-Romain, 1925-1931 (Bergamo: Instituto Italiano d’Arti Grafiche, 1932): 64, pl. LVI.
- Günther Grimm, Die Römischen Mumienmasken aus Ägypten (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1974): 77, n165, pl. LXXI, 3.
- عزيزة سعيد محمود، الأقنعة الجصية الملونة من مصر الرومانية، سلسلة الدراسات بالمتحف اليوناني الروماني (القاهرة: مطابع الهيئة المصرية العامة للكتاب، 1981): 31.