Together, the works represent some of the earliest examples of realistic portrait painting still in existence today. The auction house has sold upwards of 15 Fayum portraits over the years, but she said this lot is the most compelling one they’ve offered since 2007. That year, a mummy portrait of a young man with curly hair sold for $936,000, more than triple its high estimate. Fayum portraits sell for tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Olsman recalled when the chairman of Sotheby’s Americas division, George Wachter, first saw the mummy portrait going up for sale this month.

Source: CNN January 31, 2026 15:08 UTC