Date:
Graeco-Roman Period, Roman Period, reign of Hadrian (117–138 CE)
Provenance:
Unknown (purchased from Vinga)
Material(s):
Man made material, plaster
Description
A mask of colored gypsum for an adult man. The eyes are inlaid with white rocks on which the iris is painted in black, casting a downward look. The hair is in heavy hair locks. This mask demonstrates the features of a non-Egyptian man. According to the hairstyle, the mask belongs to the Hadrian reign or few years afterwards, when they started portraying bearded men.
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. LVII.
- Mary McCrimmon, “Graeco-Egyptian Masks and Portraits in the Royal Ontario Museum”, American Journal of Archaeology 49, no. 1 (1945): 52-61.
- W. M. Flinders Petrie, Roman Portraits and Memphis (IV), Publications of the Egyptian Research Account. British School of Archaeology in Egypt 20 (London: School of Archaeology in Egypt. University College, 1911).
- محمود، عزيزة سعيد. الأقنعة الجصية الملونة من مصر الرومانية. سلسلة الدراسات بالمتحف اليوناني الروماني. القاهرة: مطابع الهيئة المصرية العامة للكتاب، 1981.