Fayum mummy portraits

A majority of images show a formal portrait of a single figure, facing and looking toward the viewer, from an angle that is usually slightly turned from full face. The figures are presented as busts against a monochrome background which in some instances are decorated. The individuals are both male and female and range in age from childhood to old age. Painted surface Mummy portrait of a man from Fayum, Hawara, modern-day Egypt. The portrait was painted in encaustic on limewood. Roman, 80-100 CE. The British Museum, London.jpg|Mummy portrait of a man from Fayum. Encaustic on limewood, AD 80–100. British Museum Mummy portrait of a woman from Fayum, Hawara,modern-day Egypt. The portrait was painted in encaustic on wood. Roman, 300-325 CE. The British Museum, London.jpg|Mummy portrait of a woman from Fayum, Hawara, modern-day Egypt. Encaustic on wood, AD 300–325. British Museum The majority of preserved mummy portraits were painted on boards or panels, made from different imported hardwoods, including oak, lime, sycamore, cedar, cypress, fig, and citrus. The wood was cut into thin rectangular panels and made smooth. The finished panels were set into layers of wrapping that enclosed the body and were surrounded by bands of cloth, giving the effect of a window-like opening through which the face of the deceased could be seen. Portraits were sometimes painted directly onto the canvas or rags of the mummy wrapping (cartonnage painting). Painting techniques The wooden surface was sometimes primed for painting with a layer of plaster. In some cases the primed layer reveals a preparatory drawing. Two painting techniques were employed: encaustic (wax) painting and animal glue tempera. The encaustic images are striking because of the contrast between vivid and rich colours, and comparatively large brush-strokes, producing an "Impressionistic" effect. The tempera paintings have a finer gradation of tones and chalkier colours, giving a more restrained appearance. In some cases, gold leaf was used to depict jewellery and wreaths. There also are examples of hybrid techniques or of variations from the main techniques. The Fayum portraits reveal a wide range of painterly expertise and skill in presenting a lifelike appearance. The naturalism of the portraits is often revealed in knowledge of anatomic structure and in skilled modelling of the form by the use of light and shade, which gives an appearance of three-dimensionality to most of the figures. The graded flesh tones are enhanced with shadows and highlights indicative of directional lighting. ==Subjects and social context of the paintings==

Portrait of the Boy Eutyches - Metmuseum 18.9.2.jpg|Portrait of a boy, identified by inscription as Eutyches (Greek: Ευτύχης), Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian - Mummy Portrait of a Man - Walters 323.jpg|A portrait from the late 1st century AD. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. Fayum-22.jpg|Man with sword belt, Altes Museum. People of Fayum Under Hellenistic rule, Egypt hosted several Greek settlements, mostly concentrated in Alexandria, but also in a few other cities, where Greek settlers lived alongside some seven to ten million native Egyptians, or possibly a total of three to five million for all ethnicities, according to lower estimates. Faiyum's earliest Greek inhabitants were soldier-veterans and cleruchs (elite military officials) who were settled by the Ptolemaic kings on reclaimed lands. Native Egyptians also came to settle in Faiyum from all over the country, notably the Nile Delta, Upper Egypt, Oxyrhynchus and Memphis, to undertake the labor involved in the land reclamation process, as attested by personal names, local cults and recovered papyri. It is estimated that as much as 30 percent of the population of Faiyum was Greek during the Ptolemaic period, with the rest being native Egyptians. While commonly believed to depict Greek settlers in Egypt, the Faiyum portraits instead reflect the complex synthesis of the predominant Egyptian culture and that of the elite Greek minority in the city. According to Walker, the early Ptolemaic Greek colonists married local women and adopted Egyptian religious beliefs, and by Roman times, their descendants were viewed as Egyptians by the Roman rulers, despite their own self-perception of being Greek. A DNA study showed genetic continuity between the Pre-Ptolemaic, Ptolemaic and Roman populations of Egypt, indicating that foreign rule impacted Egypt's population only to a very limited degree at the genetic level. The dental morphology of the Roman-period Faiyum mummies was also compared with that of earlier Egyptian populations, and was found to be "much more closely akin" to that of ancient Egyptians, than to Greeks or other European populations. This conclusion was seen again in 2009, by Joel D. Irish, where he noted: "Interestingly, Roman period Hawara in Lower Egypt seems not to have been composed of migrants-while there is a possibility that the dynastic occupation of Saqqara may have been." Age profile of those depicted Most of the portraits depict the deceased at a relatively young age, and many show children. According to Susan Walker, C.A.T. scans reveal a correspondence of age and sex between mummy and image. She concludes that the age distribution reflects the low life expectancy at the time. A number of portraits of adolescent males indicate some form of facial hair either on the chin or upper lip. There are no real attestations for growth of facial hair in the Egyptian culture even given the culture of hairlessness as a manifestation cleanliness. This indicates perhaps a deep cultural influence from the Greeks rather than the Roman as emphasis would be on the remove facial hair. Egyptologist Dominic Monserrat concludes that this detail could indicate the depicted decease would have died according to Greek cultural values "at his optimum sexual vitality and attractiveness". Social status The patrons of the portraits apparently belonged to the affluent upper class of military personnel, civil servants and religious dignitaries. Not everyone could afford a mummy portrait; many mummies were found without one. Flinders Petrie states that only one or two percent of the mummies he excavated were embellished with portraits. The rates for mummy portraits do not survive, but it can be assumed that the material caused higher costs than the labour, since in antiquity, painters were appreciated as craftsmen rather than as artists. The situation from the "Tomb of Aline" is interesting in this regard. It contained four mummies: those of Aline, of two children and of her husband. Unlike his wife and children, the latter was not equipped with a portrait but with a gilt three-dimensional mask. Perhaps plaster masks were preferred if they could be afforded. . Based on literary, archaeological and genetic studies, it appears that those depicted were native Egyptians, who had adopted the dominant Greco-Roman culture. Hairstyles and clothing are always influenced by Roman fashion. Women and children are often depicted wearing valuable ornaments and fine garments, men often wearing specific and elaborate outfits. Men with beards were seen as having masculinity, maturity, and high social status. They were seen to have wisdom. Greek inscriptions of names are relatively common, sometimes they include professions. It is not known whether such inscriptions always reflect reality, or whether they may state ideal conditions or aspirations rather than true conditions. One single inscription is known to definitely indicate the deceased's profession (a shipowner) correctly. The mummy of a woman named Hermione also included the term γραμματική (grammatike). For a long time, it was assumed that this indicated that she was a teacher by profession; for this reason, Flinders Petrie donated the portrait to Girton College, Cambridge, the first residential college for women in Britain. However, today, it is assumed that the term indicates her level of education. Some portraits of men show sword-belts or even pommels, suggesting that they were members of the Roman military. == Culture-historical context ==

Production of the paintings For a long time it was believed that the Fayum portraits were produced during the lifetime of their subjects and displayed as "salon paintings" within their houses, to be added to their mummy wrapping after their death. In addition, much debate continues on whether or not these portraits were painted from first hand observation of the subjects. This concept of painting from real subjects and display reflects a more modern and predominantly Western view of portrait making. Rather newer research suggests that they were painted by other means perhaps even after the death of an individual. Physical evidence is not concrete, however, textual evidence such as from Pliny the Elder states "realistic portraiture indeed has for many generations been the highest ambition of art", demonstrating that capturing the likeness of an individual as being valued in the ancient world. Changes in burial habits The burial habits of Ptolemaic Egyptians mostly followed ancient traditions. The bodies of members of the upper classes were mummified, equipped with a decorated coffin and a mummy mask to cover the head. The Greeks who entered Egypt at that time mostly followed their own habits. There is evidence from Alexandria and other sites indicating that they practised the Greek tradition of cremation. This broadly reflects the general situation in Hellenistic Egypt, its rulers proclaiming themselves to be pharaohs but otherwise living in an entirely Hellenistic world, incorporating only very few local elements. Conversely, the Egyptians only slowly developed an interest in the Greek-Hellenic culture that dominated the East Mediterranean since the conquests of Alexander. This situation changed substantially with the arrival of the Romans. Within a few generations, all Egyptian elements disappeared from everyday life. Cities like Karanis or Oxyrhynchus are largely Greco-Roman places. There is clear evidence that this resulted from a mixing of different ethnicities in the ruling classes of Roman Egypt. Religious continuity Only in the sphere of religion is there evidence for a continuation of Egyptian traditions. Egyptian temples were erected as late as the 2nd century. In terms of burial habits, Egyptian and Hellenistic elements now mixed. Coffins became increasingly unpopular and went entirely out of use by the 2nd century. In contrast, mummification appears to have been practised by large parts of the population. The mummy mask, originally an Egyptian concept, grew more and more Graeco-Roman in style, Egyptian motifs became ever rarer. The adoption of Roman portrait painting into Egyptian burial cult belongs in this general context. Link with Roman funeral masks Some authors suggest that the idea of such portraits may be related to the custom among the Roman nobility of displaying imagines, images of their ancestors, in the atrium of their house. In funeral processions, these wax masks were worn by professional mourners to emphasize the continuity of an illustrious family line, but originally perhaps to represent a deeper evocation of the presence of the dead. Roman festivals such as the Parentalia as well as everyday domestic rituals cultivated ancestral spirits (see also veneration of the dead). The development of mummy portraiture may represent a combination of Egyptian and Roman funerary practices, since it appears only after Egypt was established as a Roman province. Egitto romano, ritratto di giovane uomo, su copritesta di mummia, I secolo dc.jpg|Fayum mummy portrait of a man, 1st century AD, Oriental Institute, Chicago Homme avec barbe, portrait funéraire, Fayoum, Égypte.jpg|Fayum portrait of a man, mid-2nd century, Myers Collection, Eton College. Epoca romana, ritratto femminile del fayum, IV sec dc.JPG|Fayum portrait of a woman, 4th century, Museo archeologico nazionale, Florence Fayum-18.jpg|Fayum portrait of a woman, 2nd century, Manchester Museum, University of Manchester Style The combination of naturalistic Greek portrait of the deceased with Egyptian-form deities, symbols, and frame was primarily phenomenon of funerary art from the chora, or countryside, in Roman Egypt. Combining Egyptian and Greek pictorial forms or motifs was not restricted to funerary art, however: the public and highly visible portraits of Ptolemaic dynasts and Roman emperors grafted iconography developed for a ruler's Greek or Roman images onto Egyptian statues in the dress and posture of Egyptian kings and queens. The possible combinations of Greek and Egyptian elements can be elucidated by imposing a (somewhat artificial) distinction between form and content, where 'form' is taken as the system of representation, and 'content' as the symbol, concept, or figure being portrayed. ==Mummy portraits as sources on provincial Roman fashion==

Provincial fashions Mummy portraits depict a variety of different Roman hairstyles. They are one of the main aids in dating the paintings. The majority of the deceased were depicted with hairstyles then in fashion. They are frequently similar to those depicted in sculpture. As part of Roman propaganda, such sculptures, especially those depicting the imperial family, were often displayed throughout the empire. Thus, they had a direct influence on the development of fashion. Nevertheless, the mummy portraits, as well as other finds, suggest that fashions lasted longer in the provinces than in the imperial court, or at least that diverse styles might coexist. Hairstyles Fayum-13.jpg|Depiction of a woman with curly hair, wearing a violet chiton and cloak and pendant earrings. British Museum Egyptian - Female Portrait Mask - Walters 325.jpg|The plaited hairstyle of this elite woman makes it possible to date this painting to the reign of Trajan (98–117). Walters Art Museum Fayum-11.jpg|Depiction of a woman with a ringlet hairstyle, an orange chiton with black bands and rod-shaped earrings. Museum of Scotland Comparing the hairstyles on mummy portraits, it is revealed that the vast majority of them correspond to the fast-changing fashion of hairstyles used by the elite of the rest of the Roman Empire. They, in turn, often followed the fashion of the Roman emperors and their wives, whose images and coiffures can be dated through their depictions on coins. The female hairstyles are what is usually used for the dating of mummy portraits, because other than a number of elite boys who had long hair parted on the forehead and bound into a bun in the neck, male hairstyle does not differ by much. This is because Roman male was advised to avoid excessive attention to hairstyles as he may be criticized for unmanliness. Complex ringlets with nested plaits, and curls over the forehead was popular in the late first century, with small oval nested plaits popular in the time of Antonines. A later popular woman's hairstyle is one inspired by the Roman Empress, Faustina I, with longer strands at the middle of the scalp drawn back into twists or plaits that were then wound into a tutulus at the crown of the head. Central-parted hair-knots at the back of the neck were common later in the same period. Empress Julia Domna popularized fluffy waved hair. Straight hair was common in the same period while later plaits on the crown of the head were rarely present. Clothing Other than representations of their wealth and social status, the subject's clothing suggests their previous roles in their local communities. For instance, men depicted to show their bare upper torso were usually athletes. The most common attire is a cloak worn over a chiton. It is common to have a traditionally Roman decorative line, clavus (plural clavi), on the subject's clothing. Most of the decorative lines are dark colored. While painted mummy portraits are shown to bear the traditional Roman decorative lines, not a single portrait has been definitely shown to depict the toga. It should, however, be kept in mind that Greek cloaks and togas are draped very similarly on depictions of the 1st and early 2nd centuries. In the late 2nd and 3rd centuries, togas should be distinguishable, but fail to occur. Jewelry Apart from the gold wreaths worn by many men, with very few exceptions, only women are depicted with jewellery. This generally accords with the common jewellery types of the Graeco-Roman East. Especially the Antinoopolis portraits depict simple gold link chains and massive gold rings. There are also depictions of precious or semi-precious stones like emerald, carnelian, garnet, agate or amethyst, rarely also of pearls. The stones were normally ground into cylindrical or spherical beads. Some portraits depict elaborate colliers, with precious stones set in gold. The gold wreath was apparently rarely, if ever, worn in life, but a number have been found in graves from much earlier periods. Based on the plant wreaths given as prizes in contests, the idea was apparently to celebrate the achievements of the deceased in life. There are three basic shapes of ear ornaments: Especially common in the 1st century are circular or drop-shaped pendants. Archaeological finds indicate that these were fully or semi-spherical. Later tastes favoured S-shaped hooks of gold wire, on which up to five beads of different colours and materials could be strung. The third shape are elaborate pendants with a horizontal bar from which two or three, occasionally four, vertical rods are suspended, usually each decorated with a white bead or pearl at the bottom. Other common ornaments include gold hairpins, often decorated with pearls, fine diadems, and, especially at Antinoopolis, gold hairnets. Many portraits also depict amulets and pendants, perhaps with magical functions. ==Coexistence with other burial habits==

The religious meaning of mummy portraits has not, so far, been fully explained, nor have associated grave rites. There is some indication that it developed from genuine Egyptian funerary rites, adapted by a multi-cultural ruling class. The tradition of mummy portraits occurred from the Delta to Nubia, but it is striking that other funerary habits prevailed over portrait mummies at all sites except those in the Faiyum (and there especially Hawara and Achmim) and Antinoopolis. In most sites, different forms of burial coexisted. The choice of grave type may have been determined to a large extent by the financial means and status of the deceased, modified by local customs. Portrait mummies have been found both in rock-cut tombs and in freestanding built grave complexes, but also in shallow pits. It is striking that they are virtually never accompanied by any grave offerings, with the exception of occasional pots or sprays of flowers. ==End of the mummy portrait tradition==

File:Arte romano-egizia, mummia di herakleides, 50-100, 02.JPG|Fayum mummy portrait of a man named Herakleides, 50–100 AD, Getty Villa File:Getty Villa - Collection (5304932007).jpg|Portrait of a woman named Isidora from Ankyronpolis, 100–110 AD, Getty Villa File:Getty Villa - Collection (5305528696).jpg|Fayum portrait of a woman from Hawara, 75–100 AD, Getty Villa For a long time, it was assumed that the latest portraits belong to the end of the 4th century, but recent research has modified this view considerably, suggesting that the last wooden portraits belong to the middle, the last directly painted mummy wrappings to the second half of the 3rd century. It is commonly accepted that production reduced considerably since the beginning of the 3rd century. Several reasons for the decline of the mummy portrait have been suggested; no single reason should probably be isolated, rather, they should be seen as operating together. • In the 3rd century the Roman Empire underwent a severe economic crisis, severely limiting the financial abilities of the upper classes. Although they continued to lavishly spend money on representation, they favoured public appearances, like games and festivals, over the production of portraits. However, other elements of sepulchral representation, like sarcophagi, did continue. • There is evidence of a religious crisis at the same time. This may not be as closely connected with the rise of Christianity as previously assumed. (The earlier suggestion of a 4th-century end to the portraits would coincide with the widespread distribution of Christianity in Egypt. Christianity also never banned mummification.) An increasing neglect of Egyptian temples is noticeable during the Roman imperial period, leading to a general drop in interest in all ancient religions. • The Constitutio Antoniniana, i.e. the granting of Roman citizenship to all free subjects changed the social structures of Egypt. For the first time, the individual cities gained a degree of self-administration. At the same time, the provincial upper classes changed in terms of both composition and inter-relations. Thus, a combination of several factors appears to have led to changes of fashion and ritual. No clear causality can be asserted. Considering the limited nature of the current understanding of portrait mummies, it remains distinctly possible that future research will considerably modify the image presented here. For example, some scholars suspect that the centre of production of such finds, and thus the centre of the distinctive funerary tradition they represent, may have been located at Alexandria. New finds from Marina el-Alamein strongly support such a view. In view of the near-total loss of Greek and Roman paintings, mummy portraits are today considered to be among the very rare examples of ancient art that can be seen to reflect "Great paintings" and especially Roman portrait painting. ==Art-historical significance==

with images of Septimius Severus and his family. Antikensammlung Berlin. The mummy portraits have immense art-historical importance. Ancient sources indicate that panel painting rather than wall painting (i.e., painting on wood or other mobile surfaces) was held in high regard, but very few ancient panel paintings survive. One of the few examples besides the mummy portraits is the Severan Tondo, also from Egypt (200 AD), which, like the mummy portraits, is believed to represent a provincial version of contemporary style. Some aspects of the mummy portraits, especially their frontal perspective and their concentration on key facial features, strongly resemble later icon painting. A direct link has been suggested, but it should be kept in mind that the mummy portraits represent only a small part of a much wider Graeco-Roman tradition, the whole of which later bore an influence on the art of late antiquity and Byzantine art. A pair of panel "icons" of Serapis and Isis of comparable date (3rd century) and style are in the Getty Museum at Malibu; as with the cult of Mithras, earlier examples of cult images were sculptures or pottery figurines, but from the 3rd century reliefs and then painted images are found. == History of research ==

Pre-19th century . Della Valle found the first two Fayum portraits in 1615 and brought them back to Italy. The Italian explorer Pietro Della Valle, on a visit to Saqqara-Memphis in 1615, was the first European to discover and describe mummy portraits. He was conducting excavations when a merchant came to his tent one night and claimed to have a mummy to sell, but that it had to remain a secret from the other locals. Della Valle described the discovery in his 1650 travelogue: Della Valle purchased the mummy from the man, along with the mummy of a woman found in the same well, for a total of six piastres.. == Gallery ==

File:Römisch-Ägyptischer Meister 001.jpg File:Ritratto di donna con gioielli, da er-rubayat, fayum, 140 dc ca.JPG File:Mummy portrait of young man 300AC Staatliche Antikensammlungen Inv 15013.jpg File:Fayum-37.jpg File:Portrait d'homme - Anonyme - MBA Dijon GA 2.jpg File:Fayum-14.jpg File:Mumieportræt Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek.jpg File:Mummy portrait on wooden tablet of a woman, from Fayum, c. AD 150, National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen (12993278095).jpg File:Tomba di un soldato a er-rubayat presso fayum, 130 dc ca, ritratto.JPG File:Portrait d'homme AF 6723 09254.JPG File:Portrait d’homme barbu.jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait (160-170 AD) - British museum, EA65345.jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait (c. 100-120 AD) - British museum, EA29772.jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait, female (circa 55-70 AD), Christie's.jpg File:Fayum-28.jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait, male (80-140), Christie's.jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait - 2nd c., Ashmolean.jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait (early 2nd century) - British museum, EA63397.jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait No Date 8805.jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait, male (circa 200-225 AD), Sotheby's.jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow (03).jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait, male (2nd quarter of the 3rd c), Sotheby's.jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow (08).jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait - Man with sword belt.jpg File:Fayum-27.jpg File:Fayum-39.jpg File:Fayum-72.jpg File:Mummy portrait woman with Hadrian hairstyle wood Manchester Museum 117-138 CE Hawara AN 5379.jpg File:Fayum-18.jpg File:Fayum-66.jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait No Date 8807.jpg File:Ritratto funebre di uomo con barba, egitto, 100 dc ca.JPG File:Ritratto funebre di donna anziana, da fayum, 150 dc ca. 01.JPG File:Young Woman, er Rubayat, AD 117-18 (Erlangen Universität, priv. coll.).jpg File:Mumienbildnis Liebieghaus 205.jpg File:Landesmuseum Württemberg Stuttgart Mumienportraits 05.jpg File:Mummy portrait of a bearded man, Egypt, Fayum, c. 300 AD, H 2196 - Martin von Wagner Museum - Würzburg, Germany - DSC05325.jpg File:MUT-0015.jpg File:Deceased with Anubi and Osiris (Louvre).jpg File:Fayum-76.jpg File:Portrait of a woman Second half of the 2nd century AD, perhaps from Thebes, Louvre Museum (10579550886).jpg File:Portrait d'homme N 2732-1 09252.JPG File:Fayum Portrait of a Boy (detail).jpg File:Fayum-75.jpg File:Fayum portrait of man - Ashmolean Museum.jpg File:Portrait of a man wearing a Roman tunic decorated with two vertical purple bands, wood - Museo Egizio Turin S 19483 p01.jpg File:Fayum-02.jpg File:Fayum-38.jpg File:Man Wearing an Ivy Wreath, Fayum, 101-150 CE. The Art Institute of Chicago.jpg File:Periodo antonino, ritratto funerario di donna, 138-192 sx ca.jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait (c. 150) - Harvard Art Museums 1924.80.jpg File:Funerary Portrait LACMA M.71.73.62 (1 of 2).jpg File:Fayum-46.jpg File:Fayum-45.jpg File:Fayum-48.jpg File:Fragmentary Shroud with a Bearded Young Man MET EG45 08.202.8.jpg File:Fayum mummy portrait, Fayum agricultural region, 50-200 AD - National Museum of Natural History, United States - DSC00553.jpg File:Fayum-43.jpg File:Panel painting of a woman in a blue mantle MET DP310140.jpg File:Fayum-44.jpg == In popular culture ==

The Fayum mummy images were used to recreate Jewish faces from first-century Judaea for the 2021 Israeli film Legend of Destruction. ==See also==