Blackburn’s mummy was donated in 1888 by Manchester cotton manufacturer Jesse Haworth. She was one of 81 mummies excavated in 1888-9 from a Graeco-Egyptian cemetery at Hawara by British archaeologist William Flinders Petrie.
The particular mummies had lifelike portraits covering their faces. This was a practice distinctive to a period during the Roman occupation of Egypt, beginning in the 1st century BC. The portraits became known as Fayum mummy portraits, named after the Faiyum Basin, the area in Egypt where most examples were found.
Her portrait was removed at some point in antiquity, but would have originally been held in place by a linen frame over her face. Her likeness has been painted in coloured wax (encaustic) on wooden boards. She is young, and her hairstyle and jewellery reflect the Roman influenced styles of the time.
