Image Gallery
Wax Encaustic Mummy Portrait, Hawara
Mummy portrait of a young woman from Hawara cemetery, Egypt, 2nd century CE.
The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London (with thanks to The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL).
This wax encaustic portrait on a wood panel depicts a young woman. She has dark hair in rows of curls across her forehead. The skin pigment appears extremely patchy (predominantly cream). She has maroon-colored lips; the eyes are dark brown and white. There is no trace of jewellery except for ball earrings. The background is blue-grey. The portrait is virtually complete (in two main pieces, but restored previously from fragments, which were longitudinally cracked). There are traces of oiled bandages from its mummy binding at the top and lower edges of the plate (there are a few small linen patches).
