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Mask of a Man’s Face

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor
The rough edges around the face suggest that this mask was cast in a mold. The dreamy, delicate quality of the features is typical of sculpture made at Amarna, where there is also evidence of artistic experimentation with various materials and manners of representation. If this example is a portrait, it almost certainly represents a member of the royal family. Some scholars think that it may be the face of the king at Amarna, Akhenaten himself.
MEDIUM Terracotta
  • Possible Place Made: Tell el-Amarna, Egypt
  • DATES ca. 1352–1332 B.C.E.
    DYNASTY Dynasty 18
    PERIOD New Kingdom, Amarna Period
    DIMENSIONS 4 1/4 x 2 13/16 in. (10.8 x 7.2 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 16.61
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Small mask of face of a man which seems to be made of terra cotta and was probably cast, as the edges are extremely rough. There is nothing to indicate whether it is a portrait, bit it may be intended as a likeness of the king. Condition, the nose is badly worn, chin chipped.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor
    CAPTION Mask of a Man’s Face, ca. 1352–1332 B.C.E. Terracotta, 4 1/4 x 2 13/16 in. (10.8 x 7.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 16.61. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.16.61_erg456.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, CUR.16.61_erg456.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 10/1/2008
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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