PORTRAIT OF ISIDORA FROM ANKYRONPOLIS
Your purchase will also include a FREE Egyptian Style Oil lamp, created by Potted History.
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The Fayum mummy portrait tradition fused Egyptian mummification practices with the realism of Greco-Roman portraiture, to preserve their subjects for eternity. A costly, time consuming process, only the elite in society were able to afford to have their relatives preserved in this way. There's definitely a formulaic element to these paintings- which were originally intended as an outer face covering on mummy cases. But an individual's status was indicated by their dress and jewellery.
This elegant lady has been portrayed wearing her finery, to demonstrate that she was from a very wealthy, sophisticated family. A golden circlet nestles in her elaborately curled and styled hair. Her fashionable pendant earrings appear to be constructed from gold beads, strung with large and smaller pearls. Her triple string necklace is likewise made from gold beads, pearls, cut gemstones and and a large central cabochon stone, possibly an amethyst.
She looks perfectly composed, with a slightly doleful, yet resolute expression on her young face.
The original portrait can be seen in the Getty Villa Museum in Los Angeles in California USA, where the subject is identified as being Isidora from Ankyronpolis and having been created100–110 AD. It was painted using tempera paint- which means paint made using pigments mixed in a water based medium or binder- for instance various resins, animal glues, gum arabic or milk/casein. The surface finish on these portraits is noticeably smoother than in the encaustic versions, as brushes of various size can be used to apply the paint rather than spatulas.)
Modern Artists Acrylic is an excellent, non toxic substitute for the original paints used for such works. Many of the pigments still used today by professional artists are exactly the same earth colours used in history, just sourced and ground commercially, rather than by the individual painter in a pestle and mortar. Acrylic polymers act as the binding material for the colours.
This replica painting was painted on modern wooden ply gesso board, which provides a fine, smooth painting surface and a very durable support. Gesso board has been the favoured material for paintings for millennia, as it is such a good surface to work on, and the fine white surface allows the colours to remain bright and clear. It is extremely durable, as demonstrated by the number of paintings created on such boards still hanging in galleries all round the world.
SIZE
Painted gesso board 36.4 x 23.3 cm
It is ready to hang and framed in a bespoke solid wooden frame, with a dark “distressed” finish, to resemble bronze to emulate a simple classic Roman style frame. There is no glass required, as it has been finished with two layers of UVA protective matt varnish, to protect against light and mechanical damage. The outer dimensions of the framed work is 44.7 x 31.7cm wide by 2.8cm deep.
