Mask of Tutankhamun

The mask of Tutankhamun is the gold funerary mask of the legendary ancient Egyptian boy king of the eighteenth dynasty. King Tut, as he is commonly called, reigned from 1334 to 1325 BCE, dying at the age of nineteen. The mask was discovered in 1925 in the Valley of the Kings by archeologist Howard Carter. The mask, which weighs about 25 pounds, was placed on the shoulders of Tut’s mummified body, nearly covering his face. Two layers of high-caret gold were used to create the mask, which is inlayed with colored glass and adorned with gemstones such as the bright blue lapis lazuli. On the front of the mask is the face of Osiris, the god of the afterlife. An artistic masterpiece, the mask of Tutankhamun has become a symbol of ancient Egypt and been housed in the Egyptian National Museum in Cairo, Egypt, since 1925.

Background

Tutankhamun was the last of his royal family to rule during the New Kingdom, which lasted from the sixteenth to the eleventh centuries BCE. His father, Akhenaten, was king during a tumultuous time in ancient Egypt when many battles were taking place between Egypt and the nearby land of Nubia. Akhenaten was not a popular ruler. He ended the ancient Egyptian polytheistic religion and ordered his people to worship only Aten, the god of the sun. When Akhenaten died, nine-year-old Tutankhamun took the throne. His chief advisor was Ay, who became his successor. Under Ay’s tutelage, Tut reversed many of Akhenaten’s unfavorable policies and returned Egypt to its former state. Tut married his half-sister, Ankhesenamun. They had two daughters together, but they both died.

Tut ruled for less than a decade before he mysteriously passed away. For many years, historians could only speculate as to his cause of death. They theorized that he was murdered or involved in an accident. However, many years after Carter discovered Tut’s burial tomb, scientists used digital imaging and DNA analysis to determine that he most likely died from malaria or an infection. The boy king had been in ill health; he had battled several strains of malaria, scoliosis, and a deformity in his left foot along with bone necrosis. At the time of his death, he also had a broken leg.

Overview

The ancient Egyptians considered their pharaohs to be immortal gods who lived on Earth for a while before journeying into the afterlife accompanied by their many belongings. They built extravagant burial tombs for their kings and queens, filling them with treasures and riches to ensure their eternal comfort. They mummified their bodies so one day their souls could return to them, breathing life into their bodies once again.

During the nineteenth century, many archaeologists traveled to Egypt in search of these burial tombs, many of which had long ago been broken into and robbed. Among these archaeologists was Howard Carter who arrived in 1891. Carter was convinced that at least one more tomb was yet to be discovered—that of Tutankhamen. Carter’s efforts were financially supported by a British man named Lord Carnarvon. Carter searched for Tut’s tomb unsuccessfully for five years, prompting Carnarvon to want to end the search. However, Carter convinced him to back him for an additional year. In November of 1922, Carter’s team unearthed steps that had been hidden in debris near another tomb. The steps led to a sealed doorway with the name Tutankhamen on it. Carter and Carnarvon were thrilled when they later discovered the tomb to be intact—the treasures placed in it three thousand years ago were still there. The tomb had four chambers, or rooms. It took three years of excavation for Carter and his crew to reach the fourth chamber, where they found three coffins nested inside one another in a large stone coffin called a sarcophagus. The third coffin inside the sarcophagus was solid gold and contained Tut’s mummified body.

Covering his face and resting on his shoulders was the golden funerary mask. The ancient Egyptians believed that funerary masks, also called death masks, assisted a king or queen’s spirit into the afterlife and transformed human beings into their god-like state, allowing them to pass safely through the underworld.

The mask of Tutankhamen is about 2 feet tall and weighs about 25 pounds. It is made of two layers of high-caret gold that had been hammered together. On the face of the mask is Osiris, the god of the afterlife. The headpiece, the part of the mask that covers Tut’s head, is made of gold with stripes created with the gemstone lapis lazuli. Also on the headpiece are a cobra and a vulture, which together are called the “two ladies of the pharaoh.” These figures were meant to protect the king and symbolize his power. The eyes on the mask are encircled by lapis lazuli, making the face look as if it is wearing makeup. The mask also has a long narrow beard made of gold that weighs about 5 pounds. Ancient Egyptian pharaohs often wore fake beards to symbolize their power. In 2014, the beard broke off the mask, and museum employees carelessly reattached it with epoxy. The following year, their botched attempt to reattach the beard was discovered and an expert properly mended it using with beeswax. Eight museum employees were charged with negligence.

Since 1925, the mask of Tutankhamen has resided in the Egyptian National Museum in Cairo, Egypt. However, the mask has been taken from the museum to go on tour throughout the United States and Europe.

Bibliography

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El Samman, Khaled. “Museum Officials Accused of Mishandling King Tut’s Mask.” National Geographic, 25 Jan. 2016, www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/160125-tut-mask-repair-egypt-trial. Accessed 14 Jan. 2022.

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Reeves, Nicholas. “The Mystery Behind Tutankhamun’s Mask.” Octavian Report, octavianreport.com/article/everywhere-the-glint-of-gold-the-mystery-of-tutankhamuns-mask/. Accessed 14 Jan. 2022.

“Tutankhamun.” History, 20 July 2020, www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/tutankhamen. Accessed 14 Jan. 2022.