A beautiful Ancient Egyptian restrung beaded mummy mask, composed mostly of small flat cylindrical yellow faience beads with turquoise beads creating an outline. Detailing of the features has been created in black for eyes and eyebrows, with red beads for the nose and mouth, and light blue for the sclera. The neck of the mask displays three turquoise stripes. Masks of this type rose to popularity in the Late Period of Ancient Egypt. Such masks served both decorative and symbolic importance, as according to the ancient Egyptian tradition, the burial of the dead was an elaborate course of ritualisation. Their unnaturalistic style combined with the similarity to many other beaded masks indicate they were unlikely to be modelled after the deceased individual. Instead, they are mostly interpreted as a generic image of a human face. Measurements: L 10.3cm x W 12.6cm Provenance: from Mariaud de Serres collection, Paris 1980s-90s.