Fragmentary Shroud with a Bearded Young Man

Unknown

A.D. 120–150 · Linen, tempera paint · Egyptian Art

A young man with wide eyes and an incipient moustache stands before a dark gray background, with a lighter gray area around his head. In his hand he holds a bundle of foliage, perhaps myrtle. To each side of his head is a figure of the falcon god Horus, alternately with the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt. Originally, there were ladders of vignettes with deity figures at each edge; remains of a dark skinned god with a blue crown are preserved at left. A hieroglyphic inscription at the top refers to the Egyptian god Horus the Behedite, immanent in the winged sun disk that originally topped the shroud; only the tips of some wing feathers are preserved at the upper left corner.

Artist

Unknown

Date

A.D. 120–150

Medium

Linen, tempera paint

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1908