Art Institute of Chicago

Fragment of a Funerary Shroud

EgyptLinkedCulture matchlcp-ef7a7d382bc3

Date: Roman Period (30 BCE–395 CE), 2nd–3rd century
Medium: Linen, plain weave; painted
Culture: Egypt
Department: Textiles
Institution: Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID: 55038

From the Art Institute of Chicago record

This fragment comes from a linen shroud for a mummified individual. The complete, painted shroud bore a head-to-toe, life-size image of a woman in colorful garments. The fragment here shows the stripes on her sleeve and the patterned strap running down her breast. The figure, whose curly black hair hangs over her shoulder, represents both the deceased and the goddess Hathor. To the left of her shoulder, the pillar-like djed hieroglyph evokes stability, while the partial figure of a knife-wielding guardian below depicts one of the protective figures the dead might encounter in the underworld.

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Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line: Gift of Mrs. Edward C. Sonnenschein
Provenance: Louise B. Sonnenschein (1884-1949; also Mrs. Edward Sonnenschein), Gencoe, IL, by Oct. 7, 1930 [on loan to the Art Institute of Chicago from Oct. 7, 1930, loan number 1113.30, incoming receipt R4619; copy in curatorial object file]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1946.