Head of a Woman

between 130 and 160 CE

Egyptian

Not On View

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

Painted on a wooden panel, this mummy portrait was placed over the face of a mummified body and secured to it with linen wrapping. Many mummy portraits were created in a technique called “encaustic,” in which the pigment was mixed with melted wax and applied warm to the wood panel with a small spatula. The use of vivid colors in a wax medium enhances the realistic quality of the portrait.

Title Head of a Woman

Artwork Date between 130 and 160 CE

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Egyptian

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Egyptian

Medium Encaustic with gilded stucco on wood panel

Dimensions Framed: 22 × 13 3/16 × 2 1/2 inches (55.9 × 33.5 × 6.4 cm) Unframed: 17 5/8 × 9 3/4 inches (44.8 × 24.8 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department African Art

Credit Gift of Julius H. Haass

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 25.2

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

until 1925, Dirkran Garabed Kelekian [1868-1951] (New York, New York, USA). Julius Heinrich Haass [1856-1931] (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

1925-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

Bulletin of the DIA 6, no. 6 (1925): pp. 64-5, (ill.).

Rostovtzeff, M. A History of the Ancient World, vol. 2. Rome: Oxford Press, 1927, p. 268, pl. 58 [as 2nd century].

Zaloscer, H. Portraits aus dem Wustensand. Vienna, 1961, pl. 24.

Parlasca, K. Munienportrats und Verwandte Denkmaler. Wiesbaden, 1966, p. 259, pl. 31-2.

Mummy Portrairs from Roman Egypt. DIA. Detroit, March 22-April 30, 1967, no. 10, pp. 17, 19, (ill.).

Peck, W. H. "The Present State of Egyptian Art in Detroit," Connoisseur, vol. 175 (December 1970): pp. 265-73, (col pl.).

DIA Handbook. 1971, p. 39, (ill.).

Thompson, D. J. "The Classes and Hands of Painted Funerary Portrairs for Antinoopolis." Ph.D. diss., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1972, pp. 64-69, pl. XI. [Thompson dates the Detroit portrait to 130/35-160 A. D. and assigns it to his painter "C"].

Masterpieces of World Art from American Museums. Museum of Western Art, Tokyo; National Museum, Kyoto. September 11-December 5, 1976, no. 5, (ill.).

Thompson, D.J. The Artists of the Mummy Portraits. Malibu: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1976, p. 9, (fig. 17).

Berger. J-E. L'Oeil et l'Eternite: Portraits Romains d'Egypte. Paudex, 1977, p. 175 (ill.).

Peck, W. H. Archeology, vol. 31 (May-June 1978): p. 17, (ill.).

Berger, R. Malerinnen auf dem Weg Ins 20. Jahrhundert: Kunstgeschite als Sozialgeschichte. Cologne, DuMont, 1982, p. 287 (ill. no. 50).

"Family Art Game," Detroit News/Detroit Free Press (April 18, 1982): p. 13 (ill.). [DIA Advertising Supplement.]

Thompson, D.J. Mummy Portraits in the J. Paul Getty Museum. Malibu, 1982, p. 9, (fig. 11).

100 Masterworks from the Detroit Institute of Arts. DIA. New York, 1985, p. 38, 39 (ill.).

Parlasca, B. and P. El-Fayum. Milan, 1985, p. 103 (ill.).

Grant, Michael. Art in the Roman Empire. Routledge, London and New York, 1994, (fig. 30), pp. 96-7.

A Visitor's Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts. DIA. Detroit, 1995, p. 109.

Doxiadis, Euphrosyne. The Mysterious Fayum Portraits: Faces from Ancient Egypt. London, 1995, p. 212, pl. 84.

"DIA Art Game: Art Speaks," The Detroit Free Press (April 26, 1998): p. 8.

Borg, Barbara. Der zierlichste Anblick der Welt: A"gyptische Portra"tmumien. Mainz, 1998, Abb 28, p. 25.

Bisulca, Christina, Ellen Hanspach-Bernal, Aaron Steele, and Caroline Roberts. "Deconstructing an Ancient Egyptian Mummy Portrait," Bulletin of the DIA 95, no. 1 (2021): pp. 5-19, (ill. fig. 1) p. 5; (fig. 6a) p. 12; (fig. 8-12) pp. 14-17; (ill. inside back cover).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Egyptian, Head of a Woman, between 130 and 160 CE, encaustic with gilded stucco on wood panel. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Julius H. Haass, 25.2.