Important Egyptian Gilt Cartonnage Mask

21st-22nd Dynasty, 1069-730 BC. A cartonnage funerary mask with gilded face and painted detailing; eyes depicted wide open with black pupils and outlines, arched black brows; the brow with circular red-painted ribbon, an ankh to the rear; above the brow a gold disc surmounted by a winged scarab; over the head a painted vulture with outstretched wings, each supporting a feather of the goddess Ma'at, and holding a baton in each of its outstretched claws; the face flanked by lateral pairs of winged ba (soul) birds with raised hands, behind each ba bird a pair of winged goddesses flanking a squatting figure wearing Atef crown, each flanked by the sign nb for gold; below, four panels of a recumbent Anubis surmount panels each with a winged falcon, themselves above a robed figure (the deceased) standing in adoration before a seated Osiris, God of the Dead, the other side with a similar figure worshipping the seated god Ra with sun-disc on his head; panels of roundels, geometric designs, wedjat eyes and other motifs; mounted on a custom-made stand. Cf. Taylor, J.H. Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt, London, 2001, item 30 for type. 3.4 kg total, 46cm not including stand (18"). Formerly in the private collection of Ambassador Bréjon de Lavergnée; acquired in Cairo between 1966-1968 when he was working there for the French embassy; accompanied by old photos of the mask taken in his house in Paris in the 1970s; also accompanied by French cultural passport number 206374.
Condition Report: Fine condition.