Woman with a Jewel in Her Hair

The artwork

A small gold jewel hangs on her forehead, between black hair parted in the middle: this woman was portrayed with all her elegance. You receive it printed on handmade Amalfi paper, in a handmade frame.

• The long, slender face, the pale eyes, the jewel in her hair and the two necklaces.
• A refined portrait that gives character to a sitting room or a bedroom.
• An elegant gift for someone dear.

She was painted in Roman Egypt in encaustic, colours mixed with wax, on a panel of sycomore, the fig tree that grows along the Nile. The Louvre in Paris, which has held it since 1893, dates it between AD 150 and 350. Like the other portraits we call Fayum portraits, after the region of Egypt where many were found, it was placed over the face of the mummy, among the bandages, so that the woman would keep her appearance in the afterlife.

The painter told of her wealth with a few precise details: the jewel hanging in the middle of the forehead, the pearl earrings, two gold necklaces one above the other, the dark red tunic with black stripes. The face instead is serious and serene, with the long nose and thin lips of a real person.

In a sitting room or a bedroom it brings home a lady of Roman Egypt, elegant and composed. It is a refined gift.

Unique quality material

Print on handmade Amalfi paper
Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in)
With frame: 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in)
Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges
Frame: dark brown with gold fillet, handmade, with glass