Mummy cartonnage
Type:
Skeletons and mummies
Date:
late third century
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Egypt
Dimensions:
cartonnage 90 × 33.7 cm
Description:
This is the mummy of a man who died, according to carbon-14 dating, between 259 and 398. His face and upper body are painted on plaster-covered linen, called cartonnage, and trimmed with a long grass rope. Attached to the rope is a mason's square made of wood, probably an amulet suggesting integrity and equilibirium rather than an indication of the man's profession. The man holds a painted glass cup and a wreath. The idealized three-dimensional portrait combines features of Roman and Egyptian art: there is a wreath in classical Roman style, an Egyptian hieroglyph signifying protection, and the boat of the sun god flanked by jackals refers to embalming. The red swastika-like design on the man's left shoulder is an ancient symbol of holiness. The unknown man was buried near Thebes, probably in the later third century, and excavated in the 1920s.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
1
Repository and Online Resources:
• The mummy is in the Brookyln Museum (52.128a–e).
Image Credits:
Brooklyn Museum; Linda Safran
