Al Fayyum

Encyclopedia : A : AL : ALF : Al Fayyum

Al Fayyum or El Faiyûm (Arabic: الفيوم ; Coptic Ph-iom or Fiûm), formerly Medinet al Fayyum (written in several different ways), is the capital of Al Fayyum Governorate, Egypt. It is located southwest of Cairo and has a population of 166,910; it occupies part of the ancient site of Crocodilopolis.

It is the source of a somewhat famous death mask or mummy portrait painted around 30 BCE, during Roman occupation of the area. Egyptians maintained their practice of burying their dead, despite the Roman preference for cremation. While part of the Roman Empire, Egyptian death masks were painted on wood in a pigmented wax technique called encaustic, and the mummy portrait from al Fayyum representes this technique.

Unlike the extravagant and stylied death masks of pharaohs, e.g. Tutankhamen, the new Roman interpretation of the death mask presents an image of an individual person devoid of precious and costly materials. The figure shown wears Roman garb and a hairstyle popular during Marcus Aurelius's reign.