Faiyum Portrait Mummy of a Young Child

This mummy from Hawara, dates from the 1st-2nd Century A.D., and is of a young child aged 2-3 years of age.

Barbara Borg FSA (Professor of Classical Archaeology at the Scuola Normale Superiore) and German Egyptologist and Curator Dr. Cäcilia Fluck proposed that the idea of the mummy being a male was incorrect, based upon the depiction of the child in the painted linen portrait adorning the mummy. They sugguested that the lilac bare-shoulder tunic, and touselled curls indicated a female. As well as the presence of what they believe to be a lunula, a crescent moon amulet that was believed to have protected females in Ancient Rome, although it must be noted that the entirity of the amulet cannot be seen in this portrait.

Alas, despite all the feminine traits of the portrait, C.T. scanning revealed the mummy is indeed that of a young toddler boy between age 2 and 3 at the time of his death, and he lays embalmed with his arms resting upon his lower abdomen.

Bibliography

Jana Helmbold-Doyé, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Summary:

Mummy of a young child, 1st-2nd Century A.D.

From Hawara

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung. ÄM 11413