Faces of the Past: journey round the world

We currently have a display of objects from around the world in the temporary display case at Hull and East Riding Museum - each object has been selected for display because it has a representation of a face on it.

Through this display we are inviting our visitors, both to our physical museum site and online, to explore ideas of portraiture and identity. 

We’ve included images of the objects which are on display in this post.  Please post your comments, questions, thoughts and ideas at the bottom of this post.  If you’d prefer you can contact us using the hashtag #HERMFaces on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Here are a few questions you might like to explore:

What different aspects do beings have to their identity?  How do we see or perform this? 

Who is responsible for showing these different aspects?  The artist or a sitter?

Can we see traces of multiple identities in archaeological objects?  Can we decipher or deduce identities from material culture?