BRUNSWICK, Maine — A recently acquired Egyptian portrait created nearly 2,000 years ago that originally covered the face of a mummy will be on public display through June 5 at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
The portrait of a young man wearing a gilded laurel wreath was painted on a thin wooden panel, according to a release from the college. It is part of a body of work known as “Fayum portraits,” of which fewer than 1,000 examples are known today.
The portrait of the head and upper torso of a young teenage male “is an example of the ancient Egyptian burial ritual of painting a mummy with the face of the deceased to ensure they will be recognized in the afterlife,” the release states.
“This portrait is a remarkable example of the cultural exchanges that occurred in the ancient world, and adds immeasurably to the museum’s ability to represent the complexity of the ancient past,” museum co-director Frank Goodyear said in the release.
“We are proud to have acquired such a rare work of art from one of the earliest civilizations in recorded history,” co-director Anne Goodyear said. “This Fayum portrait further demonstrates the BCMA’s continued dedication to the collection and study of antiquities, and brings an important historic work to Maine.”
The portrait is on display in the museum’s rotunda from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, until 8:30 p.m. Thursdays and from noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free.