Egyptian Fayum Portraits of the Ptolemaic Period - 332-30 BC. To music from Michael Atherton's album "Ankh - The Sound of Ancient Egypt." The Ptolemaic Kingdom was founded by Ptolemy and ended with the death of Cleopatra VII and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. Fayum portraits were painted on wooden panels and mounted into the bands of cloth of a mummy so that they showed over the face area. They were either done in encaustic (wax) or in tempera. There have been around 900 portraits found, often still retaining their bright colors.