29. Funerary Mask of Tutankhamun, Egyptian,

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, reign of Tutankhamun

(c.1333-1323 B.C.E.), c. 1323 B.C.E. Gold,

lapis lazuli, carnelian, quartz, obsidian, turquoise,

glass paste,54 x 39.3 cm, weight: 11kg.

The Egyptian National Museum, Cairo.

 

 

The funerary mask of the Egyptian pharaoh, Tutankhamen, is made of solid gold that has been both beaten and burnished. It was made to cover the mummy of the pharaoh after he died and is an approximation of the physical appearance of the king, notably the narrow eyes, fleshy lips and the shape of his chin which are all in accordance with his mummy though the image in its entirety is most likely, to an extent, idealized. The stripes of the nemes on the headdress and the false inlaid beard are made of blue imitation lapis lazuli. The representation of a vulture’s head seen above the king’s left eye symbolizes sovereignty over Upper Egypt. It is also made of solid gold while its beak is made of horn-coloured glass. The cobra above his right eye symbolizes sovereignty over Lower Egypt, is also made of solid gold and has a head made of dark blue faience and gold eyes inlaid with translucent quartz backed with red pigment. The pharaoh’s ear lobes are shown as pierced although when the reliquary object was discovered the holes were covered with discs made of gold foil. Spread across his chest is a broad collar encrusted with segments of lapis lazuli, quartz, green feldspar with a lotus bud border made of coloured glass cloisonné work. The inscription engraved across the shoulders and back of the mask represents a spell that normally first appeared about 500 years before the 18th dynasty, which was intended to protect the mask from harm and was later incorporated in the Book of the Dead.