Mummy Mask
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About this Brooklyn Icon
The Brooklyn Museum is commemorating its 200th anniversary by spotlighting 200 standout objects in its encyclopedic collection.
American Egyptologist George Reisner excavated this fragmented plaster mask in a burial shaft of a rubble-built tomb in Giza, in November 1925. Discovered in four pieces, the mask was probably originally part of a larger plaster body covering. The ancient Egyptian practice of covering the dead with plaster occurred only during the late Fifth and early Sixth Dynasties (ca. 2400–2170 B.C.E.), making this mask a rare example.
The deceased would have been wrapped in linen and then encased in plaster; the rest of this covering has been lost to time. The face’s deeply carved eyes, nose, and mouth were added when the plaster was wet. This mask, whose owner remains unknown, was part of the MFA Boston’s collection until it was purchased by the Brooklyn Museum in 1948.
Caption
Mummy Mask, ca. 2500–2170 B.C.E.. Plaster, Lips: 1 1/8 x 4 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. (2.9 x 10.8 x 12 cm) Eye: 1 1/2 x 3 9/16 x 5 5/16 in. (3.8 x 9.1 x 13.5 cm) Forehead/Eye: 1 1/8 x 3 7/8 x 4 7/16 in. (2.8 x 9.8 x 11.3 cm) Cheek?: 13/16 x 3 1/8 x 4 3/16 in. (2 x 8 x 10.6 cm) 8 1/4 x 5 11/16 in. (21 x 14.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 48.183a-d. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 48.183_PS6.jpg)
Tags
Title
Mummy Mask
Date
ca. 2500–2170 B.C.E.
Dynasty
Dynasty 5 to Dynasty 6
Period
Old Kingdom
Medium
Plaster
Classification
Dimensions
Lips: 1 1/8 x 4 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. (2.9 x 10.8 x 12 cm) Eye: 1 1/2 x 3 9/16 x 5 5/16 in. (3.8 x 9.1 x 13.5 cm) Forehead/Eye: 1 1/8 x 3 7/8 x 4 7/16 in. (2.8 x 9.8 x 11.3 cm) Cheek?: 13/16 x 3 1/8 x 4 3/16 in. (2 x 8 x 10.6 cm) 8 1/4 x 5 11/16 in. (21 x 14.5 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
48.183a-d
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Are there known examples of actual casts, as opposed to carved images, as here?
I am not aware of any such tradition. In general, ancient Egyptian art has an idealizing goal. Therefore, a cast of someone's face would not be necessary for a "perfect" depiction of the individual.That said, you can see different trends in idealized faces across time. The head of Hatshepsut that you sent has some distinctive facial features that can easily be contrasted with nearby images of Middle Kingdom kings, like Senwosret III, for example.Thank you! I would assume that casts would be of dead...You're welcome! I see what you mean. While the "death mask" is a tradition in other cultures, it was not a part of the Egyptian mummification process (or rather, pre-mummification ritual). Preparation for the afterlife is a time when idealization would be especially important! Interestingly, there is a plaster mask that was sculpted onto a wrapped mummy, it's on view in the Mummy Chamber. It was not cast directly from the person's face and the practice fell out of fashion.
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