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Fayum Mummy Portrait of a Man with Curly Hair and Beard*

Image credit: Freud Museum London

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Notes

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This painted portrait on wooden board acted as a ‘death mask’ to be bound to its subject after mummification and before burial. The identity of the sitter portrayed here is unknown. The purpose of the mask was to preserve the deceased’s image after death. The portraits would often be painted during a person’s lifetime and displayed in the home until they died, meaning subjects were immortalised at their most youthful and attractive. The vivid colours were made from hot beeswax mixed with coloured pigments painted onto a wooden board. In the late nineteenth century Egyptian artefacts became fashionable collectables in Europe, making Victorian explorers and ‘tomb raiders’ race to uncover new artworks and treasures. Sigmund Freud was a passionate collector of antiquities.

Freud Museum London

London

Title

Fayum Mummy Portrait of a Man with Curly Hair and Beard*

Date

AD 250–300

Medium

tempera on wood

Measurements

H 35.6 x W 19.1 cm

Accession number

4947

Acquisition method

acquired by Sigmund Freud

Work type

Painting

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Freud Museum London

20 Maresfield Gardens, London, Greater London NW3 5SX England

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