The background of this portrait was originally gilded, emphasizing the divine status of the deceased young woman. She looks at the viewer with large serious eyes, accentuated by long lashes. A mass of loose curls covers her head, and some strands fall along the back of her neck on the left side. Framed by the black hair, deeply shadowed neck, and dark red tunic, her brightly lit face stands out in appealing youthfulness, an impression that is heightened by the gold wreath and sparkling jewelry.
For more on the technique used to create this portrait, see 09.181.1.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Portrait of a young woman in red
Period:Roman Period
Date:A.D. 90–120
Geography:From Egypt
Medium:Encaustic on limewood with gold leaf
Dimensions:H. 38.1 x W. 18.4 cm (15 x 7 1/4 in.)
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1909
Accession Number:09.181.6
Purchased from Maurice Nahman in Cairo, 1909
Lythgoe, Albert M. 1910. "Græco–Egyptian Portraits." In The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 5, no. 3 (March), p. 71.
Metropolitan Museum of Art 1911. A Handbook of the Egyptian Rooms. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, fig. 59 [right].
1911. Catalogo della Mostra Archeologica nelle Terme di Diocleziano. Rome: Istituto Italiano d'Arti Grafiche, pp. 157–8, fig. on page 157.
Metropolitan Museum of Art 1913. A Handbook of the Egyptian Rooms. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, fig. 59 [right].
Metropolitan Museum of Art 1916. A Handbook of the Egyptian Rooms. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, fig. 59 [right].
Swindler, Mary Hamilton 1929. Ancient painting, from the earliest times to the period of Christian art. New Haven: Yale University Press, p. 319 ff., fig. 512.
Galassi, Giuseppe 1953. Roma o Bisanzio, 1. Rome: Librerio dello Stato, pp. 138, 579, fig. 64.
Parlasca, Klaus 1966. Mumienporträts und verwandte Denkmäler. Wiesbaden: Steiner, p. 42 (nn. 172, 177), p. 240 (nn. 213, 253).
Berger, Jacques-Edouard and René Creux 1977. L'oeil & l'éternité: portraits romains d'Egypte. Paudeux, p. 216.
Parlasca, Klaus 1977. Ritratti di Mummie, Ser B- II. Repertorio d'arte dell'Egitto Greco-Romano, Palermo: Fondazione Mormino, pp. 43-44, no. 308.
Dorman, Peter F., Prudence Harper, and Holly Pittman 1987. Egypt and the Ancient Near East. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 86-87.
Doxiades, Euphrosyne 1995. Mysterious Fayum Portraits. London: H.N. Abrams, pp. 153-153, pl. 97.
Borg, Barbara E. 1996. Mumienporträts, Chronologie, und kultureller Kontext. Mainz am Rhein: P. von Zabern, p. 192.
Walker, Susan 2000. Ancient Faces: Mummy Portraits from Roman Egypt. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 106-107, no. 66.
Hill, Marsha 2000. "Roman Egypt." In The Year One: Art of the Ancient World East and West, edited by Elizabeth J. Milleker. New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 99, fig. 80, p. 208.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 26,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from the Paleolithic to the Roman period.