Mummy Portrait of a Young Man 125

This is an encaustic on wood portrait of a young man, made in Roman Egypt sometime between about 50 and 250 AD. These so-called Fayum portraits weren't commissioned artworks in the modern sense. Instead, they reveal the ways that cultural practices combine and transform under the pressure of empire. The image shows a young man in Roman dress, but painted for placement on an Egyptian mummy. The painting is naturalistic, but this realism serves a symbolic function. In the context of funerary ritual, it was believed to enable the deceased to be recognized in the afterlife. Egypt under Roman rule was a melting pot of cultures, and the art of the period reflects this. These portraits provide valuable insight into the lives of ordinary people living under Roman rule. We learn about their beliefs, their customs, and their social status through the images they left behind. By researching the archeological record, burial practices, and the social history of Roman Egypt, we can begin to reconstruct the world in which these portraits were created and consumed.