Mummy Portraits

Throughout much of history commemorating people became primary evidence of important events and important figures portrayed during that time. From small statues to enormous temples, it shed light to the type of role or power the person held. Most of these commemorating items were built in order to show the power of the person and for a place of worship for future people/citizens, due to their religious views or rituals. The mummy portrait of a woman and the bust of a woman, were both very important commemorations that were given to significant women. Although, it may not be very clear who these people are, it definitely shins a light of how women were viewed during these times. A unique feature that both of these portraits have is a veristic …show more content…
This statue was made from marble, which explains that it was made to be durable and long lasting. This portrait is made from a light color material, which also seems to be a heavy and precious portrait for the person that owned it. Although this bust was made out of marble, it had a rougher surface and with less shine than other statues made out of marble. The representation of this portrait is fairly clear because it is only the neck and face of the woman so there is no other attributes that are unclear. The representation is naturalistic and it was something that was created for public display; thus, the original audience would have easily recognized the type of art. In comparison to other portraits of women during this time, the uniqueness of the bust of a woman was the defined hairstyle. Other statues of woman showcase a soft hairstyle that displays their hair down with curls. However, this bust displays integrate braids with a linear pattern that contrasts with the realistic freshness of the woman’s cheeks and forehead (Getty Villa).. Her hairstyle might have developed through the influence of the empress during that time, such as Empress …show more content…
The sculpture also displays a veristic approach, which means that the woman depicted seems very naturalistic. Through the imperfections of her face, she displayed a less carved statue that emphasized the veristic approach. For instance, she didn’t have many defining features and she had a longer neck which showcased her as being an older woman. Although men always held a higher rank in society, women’s portraits were always preferred over the men’s because they depicted the style of the current empress (Getty Villa). The reason for the similarities was to display women peace in society. This woman in particular, seems to be of an older age, due to the many facial features displayed. She has a few wrinkles in the cheeks and her neck seems to be lower as well. Her clothing, although it is only shortly displayed, also has a layered look which conveys her to have important status. The artist exploited the possibilities of the medium through the unique features in the