The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 13, 2026

A roughly rectangular portrait in encaustic, pigment mixed with beeswax, on linen depicts the head of a woman with medium-light skin tone, turning slightly to her left to look at us. She has brown eyes, a defined, arched brow, and full black hair pulled up. It enwraps the tops of her ears, earrings like two stacked pearls hanging below. The portrait's edges have been cut somewhat roughly, particularly on the lower edge, and fray slightly.

Funerary Portrait of a Woman

c. 138–92 CE

Egypt, Roman Empire, Antonine

encaustic on linen
Overall: 26 x 19 cm (10 1/4 x 7 1/2 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1971.136
Location: 107 Egyptian

Description

So-called mummy portraits were apparently painted during the owners' lives and hung in their homes. At the time of the owner's death, the portrait was taken down, cut from its frame, and trimmed to fit the deceased's mummy, to which it was bound. It was at that time also that the gilding on the center painting was added.
  • 1971
    Purchased from Mathias Komor, New York
    1971—
    The Cleveland Museum of Art
  • Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1971." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 59, no. 1 (1972). Referenced pp. 40 no.3 www.jstor.org
    Cooney, John D. “Portraits from Roman Egypt.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 59, no. 2 (February 1972): 51–55. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 52-53, fig. 2 www.jstor.org
    The Art Quarterly XXXV No. 1 (Spring 1972). P. 81
    Parlasca, Klaus. Ritratti di mummie. Roma: Erma di Bretschneider, 1977. pp. 33, no. 265, pl. 64. fig. 2
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 18 archive.org
    Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999 Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 507
    Buccino, Laura. "L'acconciatura a toupet di riccioli nei ritratti femminili scolpiti e dipinti: cronologia e valenze sociali." Bullettino della Commissione Archeologica Comunale di Roma 118 (2017): 7-38 Mentioned p. 25
  • CMA 1972, no. 3
    Year in Review: 1971. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1971-February 6, 1972).
  • {{cite web|title=Funerary Portrait of a Woman|url=false|author=|year=c. 138–92 CE|access-date=13 September 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1971.136