Encaustic
Painting with pigment mixed into melted beeswax, applied hot.
Also: hot wax painting
Encaustic paint is coloured beeswax, kept molten on a heated palette and applied with brush or metal tool. It sets at once as it cools, and the surface can be reworked with heat. The best-known ancient examples are portraits from Roman Egypt, about two thousand years old, placed over the faces of mummies; their colours are still fresh. Wax does not yellow and resists damp. The technique was revived by modern artists in the 20th century. The word comes from the Greek for burning in.