The Faiyum Portrait Mummies - Egypt Museum

The Faiyum Portrait Mummies - Egypt Museum

The so-called Faiyum portraits; hauntingly lifelike painted panels affixed to mummies from the Roman Period, are often misrepresented as evidence of Greek or foreign settlers in Egypt. Yet the scientific, archaeological, and cultural record tells a very different story. These portraits, dating mainly from the 1st century B.C. to the 3rd century A.D., come chiefly from the Fayum oasis and surrounding necropoleis such as Hawara, Rubayat, and Er-Ru…