Fayum mummy portraits
The tondo appears to be of Egyptian origin, using similar materials and style to the Fayum mummy portraits. It may have been painted to celebrate the visit of Septimius Severus to Egypt in 199 CE, following his military victories against the Parthian Empire the previous year, and before his campaigns in north Africa in 203. Caracalla, born in 188, is depicted as a youth, indicating a date before about 205.