Portrait Mummies from Roman Egypt (I-IV Centuries A. D.) with a Catalog of Portrait Mummies in Egyptian Museums

In Egypt of the 1st century AD an alternative was introduced to the traditional use of painted masks of papier-mache on wrapped and decorated mummies. A new technique, borrowed from the Hellenic tradition of painting in encaustic (coloured wax) or water colour on wooden panels or linen sheets, involved the production of realistic images of the faces of men, women and children. These idealized paintings were placed over the face of the wrapped mummy. The combination of an impressionistically rend…