An anthropological study of polychrome plaster masks from Greco-Roman Egypt (using a male sample as an example)

Abstract

Introduction. Naturalistic funerary portraits in the form of sculpted images of the deceased (plaster masks) appeared in the Egyptian mortuary cult during the Roman period of Ancient Egypt testifying to the synthesis of religious and cultural traditions in the multiethnic Roman society. The aim of this study was a preliminary anthropological assessment of the figurative material – polychrome plaster funerary masks.

Materials and methods. Materials were collected from digitized museum collections, as well as using a catalog (Müller, 2021b). A total of 206 male masks were examined, with the sample being analyzed across three gradations of "portrait" and "age." The study utilized an anthroposcopic method, using the actual color of the paint or inlay to describe pigmentation. Univariate statistics and univariate analysis of variance (F-test) were used for data analysis; the significance of differences in feature occurrence was assessed (chi-square).

Results and discussion. Of the numerous plaster masks, only a small fraction could represent a portrait of a specific individual. Most masks are typical, but polymorphic in their depiction of facial morphology. A smile is depicted on masks as an element of idealization (42%). The number of anthropologically descriptive features in the three "portrait" groups differed significantly, with the highest level of facial detail in the masks being found in the mature sample. A comparison of the mean scores for the development of descriptive features and their frequencies revealed significant differences for several features: prominence of the cheekbones (for both "portrait" and age groups), width of the eye slit and eye color (for "portrait" groups only), and nature of the hair (for age groups only). Hair color on masks is shown only in brown (29,5%) and black (70,5%), while light and mixed eye pigmentation (12,7%) is most often depicted through inlay. The frequency of straight hair and "light" eyes changes with increasing portraiture of the masks and the age of the depicted character.

Conclusion. The male sample of plaster masks demonstrates within-group variability and a generally similar pattern of variation in most descriptive facial features, regardless of the mask's degree of portraiture. Further anthropological research on plaster masks requires sample adjustments and an increase in the number of masks with the most portrait-like features.

Acknowledgements. The study was conducted under the state assignment of Lomonosov Moscow State University

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