Gilded mummy-masks such as this appear to have been made for persons of high status in the early part of the Roman Period (from about 30 BC). Though Roman artistic traits began to influence native styles in the succeeding fifty years, the masks are still very clearly Egyptian in design.

This is clear in the imagery used, including here: the winged sun-disc; a falcon; the human-headed ba (spirit of the deceased); winged serpents representing the goddesses <href="ilink|,_blank|">Wadjet and <href="ilink|,_blank|">Nekhbet, and the mummy on a bier, flanked by winged sphinxes. On the back of the head is <href="ilink|,_blank|">Nut, the sky-goddess, holding two falcons;<href="ilink|,_blank|">Anubis and <href="ilink|,_blank|">Horus presenting the mummy to the seated<href="ilink|,_blank|">Osiris, and below, the spirit of the deceased, depicted again as a ba bird.

Above the face is a headband with a central sun disc flanked by <href="ilink|,_blank|">uraeus-serpents. On the top of the head, as though propelling the sun disc, is a blue scarab beetle with outspread wings. There is also a Greek inscription identifying the dead man as Syros, son of a man called Herakles. The face and wig are covered with gold leaf. The use of gilding for the face, common in ancient Egypt, indicates that the deceased was considered as having attained divine status, as gold was regarded as the flesh of the gods.

The site of Hawara is famous for its Roman mummy portraits.

This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.