Artemidorus
Title
Artemidorus
Date
ca. AD 100-200 (Trajanic)
Artist or Workshop
Unknown
Materials
plaster and paint, lime wood, gold leaf
Height of the work
171cm
Provenience
Faiyum, Hawara, Egypt
Current Location
British Museum, London, UK
Sitter Biography
The portrait is of the person mummified inside the case, Artemidorus. He was about 18-21 when he died and possibly died from an assault.
Description and Significance
Description:
This is a mummy case made of lime wood covered in plaster and paint. The paint was applied using the encaustic method. The paint depicts the portrait of a young man wearing a white tunic on his body and a gold laurel wreath around his head which is the “Crown of Justification”. He has medium skin and dark hair that are realistic painted. The rest of the case features iconographic scenes relating to funerals and death with depictions of some of the Egyptian gods. The scenes are done in gold on a dark red background. There is an inscription that reads “APTEMIΔѠPE EYΨYXI” in Greek or “Farewell, Artemidorus”.
One of the scenes is of the god Anubis attending to the mummy with the goddesses Isis and Nephthys on either side of the body. Another shows the God Osiris awakening new life. There is also a boat which refers to the passing of a soul from life to the underworld.
Significance:
This work is significant because it is an example of the mummy portraits that we have from Hawara. Hawara is a site in Egypt that was excavated and many mummy portraits were found. There are mummy portraits from other sites as well but what is different about the ones from Hawara is they are mostly done on limewood not oak. The mummy portraits were often wood panels cut into arched shapes and done using encaustic, a painting method of mixing pigment with heated beeswax. The limewood panels are significant because limewood was not native to that area and therefore had to be important which shows that the sitters had some sort of wealth or power. The sitters are shown in Greco-Roman dress, hairstyle, and jewelry, despite being from Egypt. This portrait shows a mixing of different cultures with the sitter having a Greek name, it being a Roman-style portrait, and traditionally Egyptian funerary methods and imagery.
This is a mummy case made of lime wood covered in plaster and paint. The paint was applied using the encaustic method. The paint depicts the portrait of a young man wearing a white tunic on his body and a gold laurel wreath around his head which is the “Crown of Justification”. He has medium skin and dark hair that are realistic painted. The rest of the case features iconographic scenes relating to funerals and death with depictions of some of the Egyptian gods. The scenes are done in gold on a dark red background. There is an inscription that reads “APTEMIΔѠPE EYΨYXI” in Greek or “Farewell, Artemidorus”.
One of the scenes is of the god Anubis attending to the mummy with the goddesses Isis and Nephthys on either side of the body. Another shows the God Osiris awakening new life. There is also a boat which refers to the passing of a soul from life to the underworld.
Significance:
This work is significant because it is an example of the mummy portraits that we have from Hawara. Hawara is a site in Egypt that was excavated and many mummy portraits were found. There are mummy portraits from other sites as well but what is different about the ones from Hawara is they are mostly done on limewood not oak. The mummy portraits were often wood panels cut into arched shapes and done using encaustic, a painting method of mixing pigment with heated beeswax. The limewood panels are significant because limewood was not native to that area and therefore had to be important which shows that the sitters had some sort of wealth or power. The sitters are shown in Greco-Roman dress, hairstyle, and jewelry, despite being from Egypt. This portrait shows a mixing of different cultures with the sitter having a Greek name, it being a Roman-style portrait, and traditionally Egyptian funerary methods and imagery.
References
“Catalogue online: mummy-case/cartonnage/human mummy.” The British Museum, Trustees of the British Museum 2017. Web. Accessed 14 Apr 2018.
Egan, Emily. “Late Empire.” ARTH488A Ancient Mediterranean Portraiture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD. 10 Apr 2018. Lecture.
“Mummy case and portrait of Artemidorus.” The British Museum, Google Arts and Culture. Web. Accessed 14 Apr 2018.
Walker, Susan. “Mummy Portraits and Roman Portraiture.” Ancient Faces: Mummy Portraits from Roman Egypt, New York. 2000. pg. 23-25. Print.
Egan, Emily. “Late Empire.” ARTH488A Ancient Mediterranean Portraiture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD. 10 Apr 2018. Lecture.
“Mummy case and portrait of Artemidorus.” The British Museum, Google Arts and Culture. Web. Accessed 14 Apr 2018.
Walker, Susan. “Mummy Portraits and Roman Portraiture.” Ancient Faces: Mummy Portraits from Roman Egypt, New York. 2000. pg. 23-25. Print.
Contributor
Nina Cardillo
Citation
Unknown, “Artemidorus,” Digital Portrait "Basket" - ARTH488A - "Ancient Mediterranean Portraiture", accessed May 20, 2024, https://classicalchopped2.artinterp.org/omeka/items/show/43.
Item Relations
This item has no relations.