EGYPTE
New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty or later, 13th century BCE
Wood, stucco, and glass
119.0 x 19.0 x 7.1 cm HWD

The three-dimensionally worked facemask of a man could possibly have belonged to an anthropoid, that is, a human-shaped coffin. The production method, size, and material suggest that it was more likely the head section of a mummy board that was placed directly on the corpse inside the coffin.

During the Ramesside period, this board, a so-called false lid, could also encompass two sections. The three-dimensionally formed upper part made of wood or cartonage encompassed the head and chest with the hands extending from underneath the mummy wrappings. The lower parts of the body, on the other hand, were covered with a flat board. Since the 21st Dynasty, these sections were made in one piece and always of painted wood.

This portrayal of a male face is an ageless ideal portrait. The sweeping layer wig frames the official’s face, and his slightly slanted almond-shaped eyes are made of glass. A short ceremonial beard adorns his chin.

The coffin ensemble of an elite official of the New Kingdom could comprise up to four coffins placed in each other: an outer boxed-shaped coffin and three inner anthropoid coffins. The innermost coffin was often gilded. In addition, a cartonage mask could be placed on the head of the mummy.

André Wiese, 2011

Literature

Niwinski, 21st Dynasty Coffins from Thebes. Chronological and Typological Studies, Theben V, Mainz 1988. Stiftung DKM, Ägypten _ Egypt, Duisburg 2011, p. 72 – 73, cat.-no. 35.