Ancient Egyptian Faience Large Mummy Mask

A beautiful Ancient Egyptian large, re-strung beaded mummy mask, composed mostly of dark brown and green faience beads, surrounded by a white faience bead border. Detailing of the features have been created in turquoise beads for the eyes and eyebrows, with white 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: Circa L 16. 2cm x W 13cm

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