So I was scrolling through Instagram last week when this crazy painting popped up – a super realistic ancient face staring right at me with haunting eyes. I’m talking proper lifelike, like someone’s Roman ancestor might walk out the frame. Couldn’t stop wondering what the deal was.
Diving Down the Rabbit Hole
Spent hours googling “weird Egyptian paintings” and “ghost portraits archaeology” before finally hitting the jackpot. Turns out they’re called Fayum mummy portraits. From Egypt’s Roman period around 100-300 AD? Yeah, blew my mind too – Egyptians mixing with Roman styles!
Totally got obsessed. Printed out a bunch I found on museum sites and stuck them on my bedroom wall. My partner walked in like “Are those mugshots?” Ha! They DO look like modern police sketches with their direct gazes.
Recreating the Magic
Decided to try making my own faux-Fayum piece:
- Material chaos: Grabbed wood panels from old shelves instead of fancy limewood. Splinters everywhere.
- Paint nightmare: Mixed beeswax crayons with candle wax for “encaustic” effect. Smelled awful and kept solidifying mid-stroke.
- Model disaster: Tried getting my nephew to pose stoically. Kid lasted 4 minutes before giggling.
Ended up using my scowling passport photo instead. After 3 ruined attempts, finally got one where the eyes didn’t look possessed. Not perfect but you can tell it’s a person!
Why It Got Weird
Here’s the creepy-cool part that kept me up: Archaeologists found these paintings were actually buried with corpses. Wealthy folks would get their portrait painted young, then it got strapped onto their mummy when they died centuries later. Imagine unearthing a coffin and finding your great-great-great-grandma’s selfie!
Mine’s propped on the bookshelf now between succulents. Cat keeps sniffing it suspiciously. Kinda tempted to leave instructions to bury it with me someday – let future archaeologists be baffled by a 21st century dude’s terrible wax painting!
