21st Nov, 2025 13:00
Fine Antiquities & Ancient Art
15
† AN EGYPTIAN GESSO PAINTED WOOD SARCOPHAGUS MASK, 22ND/26TH DYNASTY
€2,000
€4,000
A buyer’s premium of 30.00% (including VAT) applies to the hammer price of this lot if your bid is successful.
Ancient Egypt, 944-525 BC. The mummy mask is carved in the form of a human face, with large almond-shaped eyes outlined in black beneath finely arched brows, a straight nose, and full lips. It is surmounted by a broad headpiece and retains traces of white ground paint, the eyes still accented in black. Remnants of linen are preserved on the head, attesting to its original funerary context.
Provenance: Sotheby’s New York, 1 March 1984, lot 168. A private collection, Washington D.C., United States, acquired from the above. A private collection, by descent from the above. Weschler's Auctioneers & Appraisers, Rockville, Maryland, 4 April 2023, lot 467. A private collection in New York, United States acquired from above. Sotheby’s London, 5 July 2024, lot 125, mid-estimate of GBP 6,500 or approximately EUR 7,500 converted at the time of writing.
Condition: Good condition with old wear, commensurate with age. Natural imperfections, age cracks and expected losses to the material as generally expected from ancient Egyptian wood fragments. Obvious rubbing and flaking to pigment. Several dowels in the holes on the edge for nailing to matching pieces.
Weight: 863 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 25.5 cm (excl. stand), 33 cm (incl. stand)
With an associated, modern stand. (2)
From the 22nd to the 26th Dynasties (ca. 945–525 BC), Egyptian mummy masks formed the vital face of the funerary ensemble, bridging the idealized image of the deceased and the protective technology of burial. In this era, masks were produced in wood with gesso and paint or in cartonnage (layered linen or papyrus with gesso), sometimes gilded or fitted with inlaid eyes; they typically show serene, youthful features beneath a tripartite wig and broad collar, visualizing the deceased as a transfigured, god-like being. Museum examples document both regional styles and workshop preferences—from northern upper Egyptian cartonnage with pale grounds and restrained ornament to Theban and Saite pieces with crisp facial modeling and rich collars.
Literature comparison:
Compare a related mummy mask, from Upper Egypt, Thebes, in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number 015674.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 5 June 2014, lot 8
Price: USD 12,500 or approx. EUR 14,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian painted wood mummy mask, Third Intermediate period, 22nd dynasty, 945-712 B.C.
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, form, similar expression, and date. Note the size (29.2 cm) and brighter coloration.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 4 June 2015, lot 4
Price: USD 16,250 or approx. EUR 18,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian wood mummy mask, Third Intermediate period, 22nd dynasty, 945-712 B.C.
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling, color of the face, and date. Note the smaller size (11.4 cm) and missing pigments.
Ancient Egypt, 944-525 BC. The mummy mask is carved in the form of a human face, with large almond-shaped eyes outlined in black beneath finely arched brows, a straight nose, and full lips. It is surmounted by a broad headpiece and retains traces of white ground paint, the eyes still accented in black. Remnants of linen are preserved on the head, attesting to its original funerary context.
Provenance: Sotheby’s New York, 1 March 1984, lot 168. A private collection, Washington D.C., United States, acquired from the above. A private collection, by descent from the above. Weschler's Auctioneers & Appraisers, Rockville, Maryland, 4 April 2023, lot 467. A private collection in New York, United States acquired from above. Sotheby’s London, 5 July 2024, lot 125, mid-estimate of GBP 6,500 or approximately EUR 7,500 converted at the time of writing.
Condition: Good condition with old wear, commensurate with age. Natural imperfections, age cracks and expected losses to the material as generally expected from ancient Egyptian wood fragments. Obvious rubbing and flaking to pigment. Several dowels in the holes on the edge for nailing to matching pieces.
Weight: 863 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 25.5 cm (excl. stand), 33 cm (incl. stand)
With an associated, modern stand. (2)
From the 22nd to the 26th Dynasties (ca. 945–525 BC), Egyptian mummy masks formed the vital face of the funerary ensemble, bridging the idealized image of the deceased and the protective technology of burial. In this era, masks were produced in wood with gesso and paint or in cartonnage (layered linen or papyrus with gesso), sometimes gilded or fitted with inlaid eyes; they typically show serene, youthful features beneath a tripartite wig and broad collar, visualizing the deceased as a transfigured, god-like being. Museum examples document both regional styles and workshop preferences—from northern upper Egyptian cartonnage with pale grounds and restrained ornament to Theban and Saite pieces with crisp facial modeling and rich collars.
Literature comparison:
Compare a related mummy mask, from Upper Egypt, Thebes, in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number 015674.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 5 June 2014, lot 8
Price: USD 12,500 or approx. EUR 14,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian painted wood mummy mask, Third Intermediate period, 22nd dynasty, 945-712 B.C.
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, form, similar expression, and date. Note the size (29.2 cm) and brighter coloration.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 4 June 2015, lot 4
Price: USD 16,250 or approx. EUR 18,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian wood mummy mask, Third Intermediate period, 22nd dynasty, 945-712 B.C.
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling, color of the face, and date. Note the smaller size (11.4 cm) and missing pigments.
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Auction: Fine Antiquities & Ancient Art, 21st Nov, 2025
🎥 NEW: WATCH 13 INSIGHTFUL VIDEOS FROM OUR EXPERT
With our auction Fine Antiquities & Ancient Art on November 21, 2025, Galerie Zacke opens a new chapter.
After decades of specialization in the arts of Asia —from Japan, China, and Southeast Asia through Afghanistan and the Eurasian steppes to the Arabian Peninsula—we now take a step westward. This premiere is dedicated to the great cultures of antiquity: from the Levant and Egypt across the Mediterranean to Italy, the Balkans, and the Maghreb. A circle closes—along the ancient trade routes once traversed by conquerors from Alexander the Great to Genghis Khan. Learn more.
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