Egyptian Wood / Painted Gesso Sarcophagus Head Panel

Egypt, Late Dynastic period, 26th to 31st Dynasty, ca. 664 to 332 BCE. A gorgeous face section of a hand-carved wooden sarcophagus panel with a flat backing. Centered on the panel is a wooden mummy mask with a serene countenance defined by bulging ovoid eyes, a slender nose that flares lightly at the nostrils, tall cheeks flanking full lips above a rounded chin, and tab-shaped ears, all beneath a simple cap that sits low on the smooth forehead. Both wig lappets are draped to the sides of the head and bear traces of black-painted gesso, and the chest still retains the soft details of the red-painted broad pectoral collar. Traces of six wooden dowels are visible in their original holes across the front, with several more observable on the verso. An elegant and sophisticated example of ancient Egyptian funerary tradition!

The backing has been repaired from two large pieces, with stabilization material along break lines on verso. The face mask is of a similar age as backing but is not original to backing. Nicks, abrasions, and stable fissures to backing and mask, with fading to most original painted gesso, and desiccation commensurate with age. Great traces of original painted gesso across obverse.