Wooden Sarcophagus Mask with Traces of Gilding

Culture: Egyptian

Period: Late Period, 664-332 B.C.

Material: Wood, gilding

Dimensions: 29 cm high

Price: 8 000 Euro

Ref: 1590

Provenance: From a Dutch private collection prior to 1969. Auctioned in December 1969 at Paul Brandt Auctions Amsterdam. Later at Galerie Puhze in Freiburg, Germany. It was acquired on January 9, 2017, by the Erika Krautkrämer Collection (1932-2022). Thereafter, in family ownership. Accompanied by the original certificate.

Condition: Unrestored. Inlays missing, beautiful remains of paint and gilding.

Description: Finely crafted wooden sarcophagus mask of a man with traces of gilding. Gold was regarded as the “flesh of the gods”. Its use symbolically qualified the deceased in the judgment of the dead as justified, allowing him to join the company of the gods. The face also preserves reddish pigment, identifying the deceased as male. The deeply hollowed eyes and brows were originally fitted with inlays of bronze, glass, and obsidian for the pupils, most of which are now missing. The nose is elegant and elongated, and the mouth, with its fine lips, forms a gentle smile. The man wears a high wig, on which traces of paint are likewise preserved. At the sides, the large, lifelike depicted ears project prominently. Wooden dowels remain at the chin and at the base of the wig, illustrating how the mask was once attached to the sarcophagus. Beneath the chin is a perforation for the separately made divine beard. On the reverse is a mid-20th-century collection label bearing the number 2210. Mounted for display or wall hanging.