Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • The Collection
  • Projects & Publications
  • Past Exhibitions

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Image

Previous 1 2 3 / 3 Next

Egyptian

Mummy Mask of a Woman, 50–100 CE

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

Egyptian

Title

Mummy Mask of a Woman

Year

50–100 CE

Medium

Plaster and paint

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • plaster

Dimensions

23.5 x 18.4 x 10.3 cm (9 1/4 x 7 1/4 x 4 1/16 inches)

Type

  • Sculpture

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke

Object Number

17.056

Projects & Publications

Publications

Beyond The Pharaohs

Egypt and The Copts In The 2nd To 7th Centuries A.D.

Classical Sculpture

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Beyond the Pharaohs

February 10 - April 16, 1989

Ancient Egyptian Galleries

Masks depicting the dead have been found in elite Egyptian burials dating as early as the First Intermediate period (2134-2040 BCE). A mask placed over a mummy's head both protected and identified the deceased.

The traditional use of burial masks continued when Egypt was controlled by the Greeks (332-30 BCE) and the Romans (30 BCE-395 CE). These masks incorporate Greco-Roman realistic portraiture into the older Egyptian practice of burial masks. The realism of these portraits allows archaeologists to date them by comparing the hairstyles and jewelry to known trends depicted in coin and sculptural portraits.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Mummy Mask of a Woman with the accession number of 17.056. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

RISD Museum

  •  Facebook
  •  Twitter
  •  Instagram
  •  Vimeo
  •  Pinterest
  •  SoundCloud

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Secondary

  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use