Mummy portraits of a boy and a girl from Egypt Material

The painted busts of mummies are known as Fayum portraits, since most of them were uncovered in the Fayum region itself, the ancient prefecture (nomos in Greek) in this area being known as the Arsinoite nome. There Greeks, who were probably descendants of Ptolemaic military settlers, and Egyptians lived alongside Romans, Syrians, Libyans, Nubians and Jews. This mixed population was in the habit of embalming corpses and inserting as a part of the trappings of the mummy an image of the deceased. The creation of such images rested on the fundamental Egyptian belief that eternal life in the hereafter required preservation of the physical body. It is highly probable that the portraits also functioned as cult images, since mummies were considered to be an immortal substitute for the deceased. Depending on whether the deceased was male or female, he or she was occasionally identified with the god Osiris or the goddess Isis respectively. These portraits make up the largest group of ancient paintings. More than 1,000 images have so far been uncovered and they testify to the sophistication and realism that ancient Greek painting attained in Roman Imperial times. The earliest portraits were painted in the reign of the emperor Tiberius (14-37 AD). Their production culminates in the following century and ceases about the middle of the 3rd century AD.

The realism of the paintings of the Fayum can be traced back to the painter of the 4th century BC Apelles and his contemporaries. The Alexandrian School, which had mastered the techniques required for a realistic rendering of figures, apparently influenced Graeco-Egyptian portraitists who observed local traditions. Some of these artists were itinerant. Their work is deeply influenced by the radiant art of the East, although they were clearly familiar with current artistic trends in the Graeco-Roman world. The Fayum portraits thus represent the transition from Hellenistic art to portable Byzantine icons. Use of golden background is an Oriental practice.

The figures are painted either on wooden panels or linen, by means of the encaustic method, which makes use of hot or cold beewax, or tempera (pigments mixed with a water–soluble binding agent).

The vividness and vigour of the portraits of the Fayum radiate tranquility and often create the illusion of a third dimension. They give valuable information on the residents of the area, since they portray the drapery, hairstyle fashions and jewellery not merely of the members of the elite but also of common people at various ages.

Bibliography: Ε.C. Doxiadis, Τα πορτρέτα του Φαγιούμ, Athens 1995; Μ.L. Bierbrier (ed.), Portraits and masks. Burial customs in Egypt, London 1997; S. Walker - Μ.L. Bierbrier, Ancient faces. Mummy portraits from Roman Egypt, London 1997; Β. Geoffroy-Schneiter, Fayum portraits, London 1998· D. Papanicola-Bakirtzi (ed.), Καθημερινή ζωή στο Βυζάντιο, exhibition catalogue, Athens 2002, pp. 381-382 no. 465 (Eleni Tourna).