Gilded cartonnage Roman footcase

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Object name: Gilded cartonnage Roman footcase

Accession no.: E.103b.1911

Other numbers and markings:

Dimensions: H 25.3 cm W 14.5 cm

Brief description:

Mummy cartonnage, gilt, separate casing for feet. The foot case has some surface damage around the edges and on the upper section of the front panel. There are stains of a resinous material that appears to be ancient on the bottom and the sides.

The bottom of the foot-case is decorated with two bound and naked captives: a Libyan on the left and an Asiatic on the right. The two are tethered together by a chain. The Libyan is identified by his shoulder-length hair, curled at the end, and his long beard. He stands on his right foot, his left leg is raised and bound to the back of his right thigh and the arms are held together at his back and tied together at the top. The Asiatic can be identified by his short wig and pointed beard. He stands facing the Libyan but is bound in a different way: his wrists are tied behind his back and his right leg is raised and tied in front of him to his left thigh. These people were two of the traditional enemies of Egypt. Their image trampled underfoot was initially reserved for royal iconography but by the Roman period the motif was common on the foot cases of private individuals. Between the two captives is a rectangular panel decorated with a floral motif.

The front of the foot-case is divided into panels decorated with rosettes, lozenges and wedjat-eyes with a central lotus flower and bud motif. At the top are two gold feet, a reference to the use of gold in the embalming process, and two bands perhaps representing the lower section of a garment. Some examples of foot-cases show the sandals but on this particular example the feet are bare. The feet are surrounded by cross-hatching, decorated in diagonal bands of black, pink, blue and white pigment.

The footcase was found with