Mummy Mask, Egypt, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 5 to Dynasty 6, ca. 2500–2170 BCE. Plaster, Lips: 1 2.9 x 10.8 x 12 cm; Eye: 3.8 x 9.1 x 13.5 cm; Forehead/Eye: 2.8 x 9.8 x 11.3 cm; Cheek?: 2 x 8 x 10.6 cm; 21 x 14.5 cm. Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 48.183a-d. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

American Egyptologist George Reisner excavated this fragmented plaster mask in a burial shaft of a rubble-built tomb in Giza, in November 1925. Discovered in four pieces, the mask was probably originally part of a larger plaster body covering. The ancient Egyptian practice of covering the dead with plaster occurred only during the late Fifth and early Sixth Dynasties (ca. 2400–2170 B.C.E.), making this mask a rare example.

The deceased would have been wrapped in linen and then encased in plaster; the rest of this covering has been lost to time. The face’s deeply carved eyes, nose, and mouth were added when the plaster was wet. This mask, whose owner remains unknown, was part of the MFA Boston’s collection until it was purchased by the Brooklyn Museum in 1948.