| Mask of Tutankhamun | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Death mask |
| Material | Gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian, obsidian, turquoise, and glass paste[1] |
| Size | 54 × 39.3 × 49 cm (21.3 x 15.5 x 19.3 in) |
| Created | c. 1323 BC |
| Discovered | 28 October 1925 AD[2] |
| Discovered by | Howard Carter (archaeologist) |
| Place | Tomb of Tutankhamun at the Valley of the Kings |
| Present location | Egyptian Museum in Cairo |
| Identification | Carter no. 256a; Journal d'Entrée no. 60672; Exhibition no. 220[3] |
| Language | Egyptian language (via inscribed hieroglyphics) |
| Period | Dynasty XVIII of the New Kingdom |
| Culture | Ancient Egypt |
The mask of Tutankhamun is a gold funerary mask that belonged to Tutankhamun, who reigned over the New Kingdom of Egypt from 1332 BC to 1323 BC, during the Eighteenth Dynasty. After being buried with Tutankhamun's mummy for over 3,000 years, it was found amidst the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb by the British archaeologist Howard Carter at the Valley of the Kings in 1925. Since then, it has been on display at the Egyptian Museum in the city of Cairo. In addition to being one of the best-known works of art in the world, it is a prominent symbol of ancient Egypt.[4]
Bearing the likeness of Osiris, the Egyptian god of the afterlife, the mask is 54 centimetres (21.3 in) tall, weighs over 10 kilograms (22 lb) or 321.5 troy ounces, and is decorated with semi-precious stones. A spell from the Book of the Dead is inscribed in Egyptian hieroglyphs on its shoulders. In 2015, it had to be restored after its 2.5-kilogram (5.5 lb) plaited beard fell off and was hastily glued back on by museum workers.
According to the British Egyptologist and archaeologist Nicholas Reeves, the mask is "not only the quintessential image from Tutankhamun's tomb, it is perhaps the best-known object from ancient Egypt itself."[4] Since 2001, some Egyptologists have suggested that it may originally have been intended for Neferneferuaten, a female pharaoh who reigned near the end of the Amarna Period.[5]
- ^ Gâdiuță, Corina (2005). Egyptian Museum Cairo. Editura Adevărul holding. p. 106. ISBN 978-606-539-203-8.
- ^ Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt (1965). Tutankhamen: Life and Death of a Pharaoh. Doubleday. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-14-002351-0.
- ^ "Tutankhamun: Anatomy of an excavation, the Howard Carter archives". The Griffith Institute. University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ a b Reeves 2015, p. 522.
- ^ Marianne Eaton-Krauss (2015). The Unknown Tutankhamun. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-4725-7561-6.