Ancient Egypt, Late Period Faience Beaded Mummy Mask

A beautiful Ancient Egyptian re-strung beaded mummy mask, composed mostly of green faience beads, surrounded by a turquoise faience beaded border. Detailing of the features have been created using black beads for the eyes and eyebrows, with yellow and red beads for the nose and mouth. The colours of the beads are beautifully vibrant.

Masks of this type rose to popularity in the Late Period of Ancient Egypt. Such masks likely had both a decorative and symbolic role as the burial of the dead in Ancient Egypt was an elaborate and ritualised process. Their unnaturalistic style and the similarity between beaded mummy masks, in general, make it unlikely that they were modelled after the face of the deceased individual and they were more likely generic images of a human face. Such masks have been also interpreted as visual representations of the god Osiris, due to their blue-greenish colour normally reserved for depictions of the dead god Osiris on the walls of the tombs.

Measurements: L 11 cm x W 10 cm

Provenance: From Mariaud de Serres collection, Paris 1980-90s.