Roman Africa

Painting

	1. Distemper mummy portrait on a linen shroud of three figures, 2nd century [the painting may be older] (Paris: Louvre, Antiquites egyptiennes N 3076 [acquired before 1857]). 79x123 cm. The deceased is between Osiris, represented as a mummy, and Anubis, who leads the deceased to become a mummy.
	2. Distemper painting on wooden panel of Two brothers, from the Fayum, Egypt. 2nd c. A.D. (Cairo: Egyptian Museum). Portrait painting arises from the mummy portrait tradition in Egypt, but removed from context because of an association with the Roman portrait busts. While most examples are from the Fayum in Egypt, we assume that this is perhaps typical of portrait painting elsewhere and still Graeco-Roman in its aesthetic. The technique of distemper on wood used pigments mixed with a casein (milk protein) binder, and the effect was a flat thin color more associated with frescos than the expressive potentials of encaustic painting.
	3. Distemper portrait painted on wood from the Thebes temple in the Fayum, Egypt, 2nd - 3rd c. A.D. (Paris: Louvre). 0.29 m. tall. More expressionist than earlier Graeco-Roman portraits, and this expressionism of official art in the third century arises from plebeian roots.
	4. Panel portrait of a girl, early 3rd century (Berlin: Stadliches Museum). Most Roman portraits are from the Fayum in Egypt because its climate favored their preservation and because of the local tradition of mummy portraits. Expressionist techniques, such as the girl's large eyes, and the use of the encaustic technique convey an inner spiritual life. Encausic painting will finding favor over distemper because the translucent wax medium gives the sense of looking into the person.

Mosaic

1. Cherchell wall mosaic of an agricultural theme, mid 3rd c. A.D. Caesaria, Numidia (Cherchell Arch. Mus.). In a North African provincial style. It is a discliplined, high quality, mosaic.