Fayum mummy portrait.

Many mummy portraits that have survived have unfortunately become separated from the mummies to which they were attached. Because of this the identities of the subjects are rarely known. This mummy portrait is one of the finest of those recognized. In this painting we can get a taste of women’s fashion back in that era. Women wore loose shapeless clothing, because they aren’t pictured as sexual beings, just mothers and caretakers. However even if they were not pictured as sexual beings, they still had to pay close attention to look presentable, not to other men but to her husband or male family members. In a way woman were used for showing off a man's status, because the husband or father is capable of affording such earings, such necklaces and such gold.

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