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Expert's note
The exceptional quality of the present mask is most immediately apparent in its remarkably expressive face. The large almond-shaped eyes are set beneath emphatically modeled brows, creating an intense, almost arresting gaze, while the long nose and compact mouth are carved with a subtle asymmetry that prevents the features from appearing rigid or formulaic. Viewed from different angles, the projecting brow, nose, and lips give the face an unusually sculptural presence and a striking sense of individuality.
This should not necessarily be understood as portraiture in the modern sense; rather, the sculptor has endowed the idealized image of the deceased with a distinctly human character. The effect is heightened by the striking contrast between the softly modeled face and the rigorous, almost architectural rhythm of the exceptionally large tripartite wig, whose broad lappets dominate much of the composition.
Its alternating dark and ochre-yellow bands were not merely decorative, but evoked the precious materials lapis lazuli and gold, colors closely associated with the divine. The monumental scale and emphatic treatment of the wig thus reinforce the transformation of the deceased into an idealized, divine being, while providing a powerful visual frame for the remarkably individualized face.
Egypt, 664-332 BC. Finely carved in wood, covered with richly painted stucco, the deceased shown with a red-brown complexion and an expressive elongated face, with almond-shaped eyes, eyelines and brows inlaid in bronze, a long straight nose, and a small, firmly closed mouth. The voluminous tripartite wig is painted in alternating dark and ochre-yellow bands, the crown with red and dark ornament. The chest is covered by a broad collar of colorful concentric registers of rosettes, petals, pendants, checkerboard patterns, and geometric motifs, with horizontal bands between the lappets. The reverse deeply hollowed.
Provenance: With Kunsthandlung Faust, Cologne, Germany. The private collection of Erika Krautkr?mer, Germany, acquired from the above in 1980, and thence by descent in the family. A private collection in London, United Kingdom, acquired from the above via the German art and antiquities trade. Erika Krautkr?mer (1932-2022), together with her husband, Dr. Herbert Krautkr?mer (d. 2003), was instrumental in the foundation of WHU: Otto Beisheim School of Management in Germany. Shortly after World War II, Dr. Herbert Krautkr?mer and his brother Josef founded a company for non-destructive material testing, creating Germany’s first pulse-echo ultrasonic device—a global success that lives on in Waygate Technologies (Baker Hughes). As early as the early 1980s, Dr. Herbert Krautkr?mer supported the founding of WHU – both morally and financially. Erika Krautkr?mer shared her husband's convictions and continued their shared commitment with personal closeness and keen interest after his death. She assumed responsibility for the Campus Krautkr?mer Foundation and, with great personal commitment, realized the student residence hall that opened in 2005.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Expected wear, age cracks, losses, flaking and rubbing to the stucco and pigments, particularly along the crown and sides, restored and retouched areas in the polychromy, scattered minor chips and soiling. The reverse with later mounting fixtures. Overall with a fine, naturally grown patina to pigments.
German Export License: Ausfuhrgenehmigung Nr. 14600, dated 16 February 2026, has been granted. A copy accompanies this lot.
Weight: 5.3 kg
Dimensions: Height 65 cm
The red-brown complexion conventionally identifies the deceased as male, while the imposing wig and elaborate broad collar transform his image into an idealized funerary form appropriate to eternal existence. The substantial scale of the mask, together with its deeply hollowed reverse and broad shoulder section, suggests that it originally formed the upper portion of an anthropoid wooden coffin.
Literature comparison:
Compare the related lid of the inner coffin of Amenfaiher, Dynasty 25, in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, inv. no. 1886.6548, illustrated in John H. Taylor and Marie Vandenbeusch (eds.), Ancient Egyptian Coffins: Craft Traditions and Functionality, British Museum Publications on Egypt and Sudan 4, Leuven, Paris and Bristol, 2018, p. 367, fig. 13. Compare a closely related painted wood and gesso face from a coffin lid, Egypt, Faiyum, Late Period, 25th Dynasty, 722-655 BC, 45.7 cm high, in the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, object number 2018.010.420. Compare a closely related large painted wood head and upper torso from a coffin lid, Egypt, Late Period, probably 25th-26th Dynasty, 760-525 BC, 66 x 40 cm, in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, record identifier nmnhanthropology_8504005.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 4 June 2015, lot 168
Price: USD 68,750 or approx. EUR 84,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian wood coffin lid, 30th Dynasty to Ptolemaic Period, circa late 4th-late 1st century BC
Expert remark: Compare the closely related anthropoid coffin-lid form, polychrome decoration over stucco, boldly striped wig, broad collar, strongly articulated eyes and facial features. Note the smaller size (57 cm).
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