Fayum Portraits (or Faiyum Mummy Portraits)
Fayum portraits (or Faiyum mummy portraits) were traditional naturalistic painted portraits on wood that were made in Egypt during the Coptic Period (the Late Roman period) from the 1st century BC to the 3rd century AD. The majority of these types of portraits were recovered in the necropolis in Hawara in the Faiyum basin. Due to Egypt’s hot and arid climate, many of the paintings have been well preserved.
These death mask portraits were positioned over the faces of the deceased and were wrapped into the cloth bands that wrapped the body. The Fayum portraits are thought to be realistic depictions of the deceased during their lifetime, which is far different from the usual highly stylized classic Egyptian representational art.
In the 19th century, the Fayum portraits were acquired by collectors and as such, most of their archaeological provenience is unknown. Early on, the Faiyum portraits were thought to show a direct influence of Greek and Roman culture on ancient Egyptians during the Roman occupation.
However, more modern research believes that most of the Faiyum portraits may have been created for just the burials of the Greek settlers in the area. It is believed that although the Greeks and Egyptians lived side by side in Faiyum during this time, the people themselves as well as their cultures remained separate. Unfortunately, without the archaeological provenience, we may never know.
Approximately 900 Fayum portraits are known to date and were created with either encaustic (hot pigmented wax) or tempera paint.
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