Face to Face: The People Behind Mummy Portraits
Face to Face: The People Behind Mummy Portraits is the first exhibition on ancient Egyptian mummy portraits in the Netherlands. On display from October 6, 2023 to May 20, 2024 in the Allard Pierson Museum.
Besides items from the Allard Pierson Museum collection, the show includes masterworks from the Louvre, the J. Paul Getty Museum and other international collections. Mummy portraits, often painted on wooden panels, were made during the Roman period in Egypt, from the 1st to the 4th century AD, and placed over the faces of mummified persons. They are also known as Fayum portraits, after the region where most works were excavated. Some 38 portraits from all over the world have been gathered for this exhibition. They bring us face to face with just as many individuals who had themselves immortalized almost 2000 years ago.