Mummy Mask Egypt (Meir), early Roman Period, 1st half of 1st century C.E. Cartonnage, painted and gilded, inlaid glass; Height: 57.2 cm (22 1/2 in.) Gift of Lucien Viola, Horace L. and Florence E. Mayer Fund, Helen and Alice Colburn Fund, Marilyn M. Simpson Fund, William Francis Warden Fund, and William Stevenson Smith Fund 1993, MFA #1993.555.1 All photos ©Joan Ann Lansberry, 2014

"This richly decorated mask is ornamented with gold leaf, inlaid glass eyes, and intricate painting. At the bottom of the front the god Osiris is shown lying on an embalming table, flanked by the mourning goddesses Isis and Nephthys. Around the hood at the back of the head are depictions of the deceased and the gods of the next world." (From Info Card)

The rosettes and geometric patterns imitate rows of beads in a broad collar, (for example, the Met museum has a broad collar).

Osiris with Isis and Nephthys "The scene on the chest depicts the resurrection of Osiris. The god reclines on a lion bier, with Isis in front of him and Nephthys behind him, gesticulating with grief and uttering magic spells to bring him back to life. Above him hovers a falcon holding in its talons the shen-ring of eternity and a feather fan. Below are the Red Crown, the Double Crown, and the White Crown — the emblems of his power. Magic seems to take effect before our eyes as the shrouded one, the great god Osiris — his flesh of Nile silt, ram’s horns of divinity on his head — sits up in bed and turns to face his sister-wife. The god is reborn." ( From museum website)