Egyptian Cedar Sarcophagus Mask Traces of Gesso

**Originally Listed At $1200**

Egypt, Late Dynastic to Ptolemaic Period, ca. 664 to 30 BCE. A beautifully preserved mask carved from cedar wood and displaying traces of gesso. The serene visage is composed of almond-shaped eyes with gentle grooves between the upper eye lid and arching brows, a slender nose with delineated nostrils, thin lips with a carved philtrum, shallow nasolabial folds, and a rounded chin, all beneath a short headdress that rests low on the broad forehead. Several dowel holes around the obverse, peripheries, and verso still retain fragments of the original wooden dowels, and a petite area of vivid blue pigment is visible within one nostril. The sarcophagus mask was an essential component of the mummy that was placed over the head to provide an idealized image of the deceased. A fine example of Egyptian funerary tradition! Size: 5.9" W x 7.3" H (15 cm x 18.5 cm); 9.25" H (23.5 cm) on included custom stand.

Interestingly, cedar wood was not native to Egypt. Egypt did not have verdant forests filled with tall trees, and unfortunately most of its native lumber was of relatively poor quality. Thus, they relied on importing to acquire hardwoods - ebony imported from Africa, cedar and pine from Lebanon. One fabulous obelisk inscription by Thutmose III attests to the luxury of treasured hardwoods. It reads as follows, "They brought to me the choicest products...consisting of cedar, juniper and of meru wood...all the good sweet woods of God's Land." The rarity of cedar meant that masks like this example were reserved for those who could afford them.

Provenance: private Honolulu, Hawaii, USA collection, collected prior to 1948

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#149077
Condition Report: Small losses to nose, neck line, some dowels, peripheries, and verso as shown. Abrasions and nicks to face, headdress, and neck, with softening to some facial details, fading and chipping to original gesso and pigmentation, and several stable hairline fissures. Great traces of original gesso and pigment on face, and nice patina throughout.