Egyptian mask. Low period, ca. 6th century BC.

Egyptian mask. Low period, ca. 6th century BC.
Polychrome sycamore wood.
Provenance: European private collection.
Measurements: 37 x 27 cm.
Late Egyptian sarcophagus mask, made of sycamore wood, stuccoed and polychromed, with an ideal representation of the face of the deceased. In Ancient Egypt, the sarcophagus was associated with embalming and mummification rituals, designed to bring the deceased to eternal life. During the Middle Kingdom the custom arose of placing masks made of linen and a paste similar to cardboard over the face and shoulders of the deceased. This led to the appearance of the first anthropomorphic sarcophagi, coffins in human form, almost always made of wood. They were ornamented with painted scenes and texts of funerary symbolism. Generally speaking, however, the sarcophagus of the New Empire, especially the royal sarcophagus, will be characterised by its rectangular shape, in imitation of the oldest examples of the New Empire. However, the anthropomorphic type of coffin will be widespread over the centuries until the end of the Pharaonic world.