An Egyptian Faience Beadwork Mummy Mask, Late Period, ca. 664 - 332 BCE

This face mask, crafted from small beads of red, yellow, green, black, and tan faience, is a superb example of beadwork used in ancient Egyptian funerary traditions. The mask would have been part of a larger bead net used to adorn the mummies of the wealthy, a practice that became especially fashionable during Egypt's Late Period. The mask, which retains its original stringing, features a stylized human face that possibly represents the deceased or a deity, highlighting the significance of protective imagery in the afterlife.

Medium:  Faience

Dimensions:  Length: 8 x 5 inches (20.32 x 12.7 cm)

Condition:  While missing a few beads along the lower edge, the overall condition of the mask remains very good, preserving the intricate mosaic arrangement of the beads.  Presented on an acrylic mount (not shown).

Provenance:  Private collection of Burton Y. Berry (1901-1985), later held in a private Connecticut collection, acquired from the aforementioned estate in the 1980s.

Burton Y. Berry was a distinguished American diplomat and art collector, joining the U.S. Foreign Service in 1928. Throughout his career, he served in numerous key diplomatic roles, including Vice-Consul in Istanbul (1929-1931), Consul in Athens (1938), Istanbul (1943), and Bucharest (1944), as well as Director of the State Department’s Office of African, South Asian, and Near East Affairs (1947). He later held the position of Ambassador to Iraq (1952-1954). Throughout his career, Berry lived in Istanbul, Beirut, Cairo, and Zurich, amassing a diverse and exceptional collection of ancient art.

Berry's collection has been meticulously cataloged and documented in several scholarly publications, contributing significantly to the study of ancient adornment, jewelry, and numismatics.  They include: 

Rudolph, Wolf, and Deppert-Lippitz, Barbara. A Golden Legacy: Ancient Jewelry from the Burton Y. Berry Collection. Indiana University Art Museum / Indiana University Press, 1995.

Rudolph, Wolf. Ancient Jewelry from the Collection of Burton Y. Berry. Indiana University Art Museum, 1973.

Rudolph, Wolf. Highlights of the Burton Y. Berry Collection. Indiana University Art Museum, 1979.

Thompson, Margaret, Holloway, Robert Ross, and Merker, Irwin L. Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum: The Burton Y. Berry Collection. American Numismatic Society, 1961-1962.

Indiana University Art Museum. Ancient Gems from the Collection of Burton Y. Berry. Indiana University Art Museum, 1969.

Indiana University Art Museum. A Selection of Ancient Gems from the Collection of Burton Y. Berry. Indiana University Art Museum, 1965.

Gentles, Margaret. Turkish and Greek Island Embroideries from the Burton Yost Berry Collection. Art Institute of Chicago, 1964.

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