Lot 41
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MUMMY MASK
EGYPT, THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD, 22ND DYNASTY - 24TH DYNASTY, CIRCA 945 - 715 B.C.
Auction: 28 May 2026 from 13:00 BST
Description
wood and pigment, the face painted in gold pigment and displaying softly rounded cheeks, with a small, closed mouth forming a faint smile, the almond shaped eyes painted, outlined in black with extended cosmetic lines; the brows gently arched; the nose straight and slender, the forehead framed by a striated wig, raised on a bespoke mount
Dimensions
24.1cm tall
Provenance
Thomas M. Messer (1920–2013), New York; director of the Guggenheim Museum from 1962–1988
Sotheby’s, New York, 12th December 2013, Antiquities, lot 16
Rupert Wace, London, United Kingdom
Private collection, United Kingdom, acquired on 21 December 2018 from the above
Footnote
The use of gold pigment on mummy masks evokes divinity and eternity through its luminous, unchanging quality. In ancient Egyptian belief, the skin of Osiris (and other gods) was formed of gold, whose eternal nature and radiant, solar glow signified the divine. The application of this pigment therefore associated the deceased with these divine qualities, equating them with the gods in the hope of achieving eternal life.