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Material : Encaustic Painting on Wood
Width : 16 . 5 Height : 35 . 5
Found in : Fayum ()
Period : ROMAN PERIOD
Found in Fayoum , this portrait of a young boy dates back to the Roman Period (late 1st century AD) . A great corpus of portraits painted on wood known as the "Fayum portraits" was made during the Roman imperial era . The Roman taste had a particular interest in making portraits that stand for iconographic realism . Such a tendency became the most successful expression of the reciprocal penetration of Egyptian and Roman cultures that were far more integrated in death than in life . Portraits were either placed among the bandages wrapping the deceased's mummy or on the linen shrouds .
This example of the Fayum encaustic paintings made on wood depicts a young boy crowned with a golden laurel wreath , a frequently portrayed element in the Fayum portraits which denoted that its wearer is a young noble athlete . This child is shown in a white cloak , an indication of his high social class . He has a broad forehead , large eyes , short air , long eyelashes , and fleshy lips . Most admired is the innocent expression the boy has on his childish face .
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