Fragment of an Inlay Depicting a Theater Mask
late 1st century BCE-early 1st century CE
Medium
Glass, mosaic glass technique
Dimensions
3.6 × 1.4 × 0.4 cm (1 7/16 × 9/16 × 1/8 in.)
Classification
glass
Department
Arts of Africa
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
132070
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This half face of a woman or theatrical mask was made from a bundle of dozens of colorful glass rods that were fused together. The resulting bar or cane of glass was then heated and stretched out, thereby miniaturizing the pattern. Slices of the cane were placed in symmetrical pairs to form a complete face. Such inlays embellished furniture, boxes, and household shrines to the gods.
About the Artist
Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egyptian artists, a collective of highly skilled artisans spanning over three millennia from the Predynastic period (c. 6000–3150 BC) to the Roman era (30 BC–4th century AD), produced some of humanity's most enduring masterpieces. These anonymous craftsmen, often organized in state-sponsored workshops, lived in dedicated communities like Deir el-Medina near Luxor during the New Kingdom (c....