Roman Period mummy-portrait
- Gallery: Room 62
- Culture: Roman Period
- Date: 200 (circa)
- Object type: mummy-portrait
- Materials: oak
- Museum number: EA65343
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
This is a Roman Period mummy-portrait of a woman painted in encaustic on a piece of oak. If you look closely, you’ll notice the wood panel is split along the center and some parts are missing, especially on the right side. These losses include the woman’s face and parts of her clothing.
She is shown in a nearly frontal view, wearing a rich red tunic with a gold-edged black collar. A white under-tunic shows at the neckline, and a white line runs along the shoulders and clothing, possibly indicating a fringed accessory. She wears gold hoop earrings threaded with pearls and a necklace with a blue-gray gemstone and small medallion.
Her striking hairstyle features two curling wings of hair framing a central plait, with loose strands framing her face. Her long, full lips and carefully shaded eyes give a lifelike quality to the portrait. The soft modeling of her face was achieved with tools like a spatula or brush.
This fine portrait is a powerful example of the artistry of the Roman-era mummy-portraits found in Egypt.
See it in person
Roman Period mummy-portrait is on display in Room 62 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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