Portraits of Identity: The Hawara Mummy Portraits as Evidence for Elite Multiculturalism in Roman Egypt.

O'BRIEN, Louise

The Hawara mummy portraits, first discovered by WM Flinders Petrie in 1888, present a fusion of classical art styles and Egyptian burial practices. Spanning from 100 BC to AD 300, they serve as snapshots into the lives and deaths of elite individuals at Arsinoe, during a transformative period of Egyptian history. Traditionally described as ‘mysterious’ or ‘enigmatic’, they capture how Roman rule influenced elite identities. While the portraits have largely been decontextualised by colonial archaeology, examination of the materials, techniques, and presentation of the deceased suggests that the subjects belonged to a specific elite group: the Katoikoi. This group, unique to Arsinoe, navigated the shifting legal and cultural boundaries by redefining their social standing, embracing their ‘Greek’ heritage, and emphasising their hybrid identities through clothing, jewellery, and the very portraits themselves, while retaining traditional Egyptian funerary beliefs. By implementing a new theoretical model, Reconstruction, and drawing on documentary evidence from Arsinoe, this paper aims to understand the intentions behind the commemoration of these individuals. It will examine the portraits’ content, material, and purpose, and seek to answer questions surrounding how the Fayum elite manipulated culture through their portraits, offering a reconstruction of their experiences during a period of rapid assimilation.

Session 4. Crafting Identity and Clusters through Material Culture, Iconography and Texts ^[info]