Detail of the Relief of Mourning Women in the Brooklyn Museum, March 2010

Relief of Mourning Women

These three mourners come from a relief, representing a funeral procession, that once decorated a tomb chapel. Holding the fringed top of her dress in one hand, each mourner beats her bared breast with the other. This standard gesture of mourning in ancient Egypt was accompanied by loud cries of grief, as indicated by the open mouth of the woman on the right. The three women's girlishly plump figures and the sweet expressions of the two on the left reflect the freshness and charm of Egyptian artistic style during the fourth century B.C. The delicately carved surface was once covered with paint, part of which has survived.

Medium: Limestone, painted

Place Made: Egypt

Dates: 381-343 B.C.E.

Dynasty: XIII Dynasty

Period: Late Period

Dimensions: 11 7/16 x 13 3/8 x 1 3/8 in. (29.0 x 34.0 x 3.5 cm)

Collections: Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Museum Location: This item is on view in Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, 19th Dynasty to Roman Period, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

Accession Number: 1998.98

Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Text from: brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/4309/Relief_of_...