Theatrical mask for offering

Roman Period

A.D. 2nd century

Not on view

This mask and the mask 26.7.1020 are too small and brittle to have served as actual theater masks. They refer to the god Dionysus, patron of the theater and god of rebirth; in Egypt he was equated with Osiris. Terracotta theater masks are found in burials and sanctuaries in Greece, in sanctuaries and as garden decorations in Italy. In Egypt, they are known only from burials, as offerings to Osiris/Dionysus. Terracotta masks from Antinoopolis in Middle Egypt probably originate in tombs, and a terracotta theater mask was found in a Roman Period chapel over a burial at Hawara.

The masks 26.7.1020-.1021 and the ram 26.7.1019 are said to have been part of a find of numerous faience objects at Arsinoe, capital of the Fayum region.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Theatrical mask for offering
Period: Roman Period
Date: A.D. 2nd century
Geography: From Egypt; Probably from Fayum, Medinet el-Fayum (Krokodilopolis-Arsinoe)
Medium: faience
Dimensions: 21 x 16 cm (8 1/4 x 6 5/16 in.)
Credit Line: Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926
Object Number: 26.7.1021
Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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