Dating to the Late Dynastic Period to the Ptolemaic Period, ca. 7th-4th centuries BCE. This is a very attractive face mask, made of so-called mummy beads. These were made in vibrant colors from a composition material usually referred to as Egyptian faience: beautiful bright yellow, green, black, red, blue and white with a fringe of green and blue tube beads. As is common, the beads have been restrung, as the ancient fibers did not survive the test of time sufficiently to carry the weight of the beads.

Such faience bead masks were attached to the wrappings of a mummy, over the facial area, to give it the resemblance of a human face. For an illustration see Piotr Bienkowski - Angela Tooley, Gifts of The Nile. Ancient Egyptian Arts and Crafts in Liverpool Museum (Liverpool, 1995) p. 68, pl. 103 (Liverpool Museum, inventory number 17.6.20.60, which is also accessible online via the Global Egyptian Museum website).

See for instance Christie's South Kensington, London, sale 5951 of 28 April 2009, lot 83, for a similar mask with less vibrant colours, which was estimated to be worth up to GBP 1000 (US$ 1450), but which sold for no less than GBP 2000 (US$ 2900) including buyer's premium!

14.5 cm. W


Provenance: UK private collection, 1970s.

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Excellent.