Throughout the Bronze Age, Egyptian culture
strongly influenced the peoples of ancient
Palestine, including the Philistines. Among the
many customs borrowed from Egypt was the
tradition of burying deceased individuals of high
rank in coffins modeled after the human form.
Most probably, those interred in this fashion
were Philistine aristocrats who emulated
Egyptian ways, though it is possible that they
might have been provincial officials of the
Egyptian kingdom. This rare and magnificent
terracotta mask, a fragment of a full-sized
casket, depicts the face of man who stares back
at us from beyond the grave. Although his
features reveal the influence of Egyptian mummy
cases, the high headdress suggests that this
coffin is of Philistine origin. The modeling and
painting are lively and quick, a local variation of
the more refined Egyptian style. This bold
expressionism gives the fragment a vital
presence. Though the portrait is hardly an
accurate one, it conveys the energy of a real
human life, an energy still felt thousand of years
later.
- (X.0382)
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