Fayum portraits: posthumous images of contemporaries of Christ that have come down to our days

Fayum portraits – ancient Roman provincial portraits, named after the Egyptian oasis Fayum, where they were found. The Greeks, who settled in Egypt in the period of 1 century BC. – 3rd century AD, they used such portraits in their funerary cult, placing them on shrouds in approximately the same way as today on the monuments they make photos. In our review, 20 of the 800 portraits known today, which depict contemporaries of Christ.
The first description of the funeral portraits dates back to 1615, when the Italian explorer Pietro della Valle brought two portraits from Saccara-Memphis to Europe from the oasis. Today they are stored in the collection of the State Art Collection of Dresden. Continue reading →