The discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb by Howard Carter in 1922 yield- ed many treasures. Primarily, the most ornate object of the approximate 2,000 objects found in the tomb was the funerary mask. Incidentally, the mask was still intact, resting on King Tut’s mummified body within the third coffin, contained by the sarcophagus, until 1925 when it was removed. Consequently, it has become one of the most famous artifacts of ancient Egypt. With that said, it is a spectacular, enduring representation of an image of the ancient Egyptian civilization. What’s more is the mask is made of the finest gold and weighs 10.32 kg. Interesting to note is that the face of the mask is of a lower purity of 18.4 karat gold. However, the main headpiece is made from 23.5 karat gold. It is 54 cm high, 39.3 cm wide, and 49.0 cm deep. The thickness of the gold is predominately .15 cm with the edges tapering off to 0.3 cm thick. In today’s gold market the price of the mask would clearly be over one million dollars ($100,000,000). The Cairo Museum number for this artifact is 256A; Carter’s exhibition artifact number is 60602; and the tomb of King Tut - ankhamun is numbered KV 62. The funerary mask of King Tut was created by welding, riveting and chas- ing (an ancient metal technique) metals to form a beautiful official depic - tion of King Tut’s face at the time of his death. In addition, the mask is also adorned with blue lapis lazuli stones and blue glass paste; the eyes are constructed with obsidian and quartz. Not only that, but the mask has the face surrounded by the customary striped head wrapping, the Nemes, which was worn by the pharaohs of Egypt. To clarify, the ancient Egyptians worshipped many gods and goddesses, which were often depicted as animals, and Tut’s mask reflects this practice. For instance, it has a representation of the goddesses Wadjet and Nekhbet on the Nemes. The goddess Wadjet is depicted as a cobra as seen on the front of the mask. She is the patron and protector of Lower Egypt, which is really the north area of Egypt. The goddess Nekhbet is depicted as a Vul- ture, which is also seen on the front of the mask. Nekhbet is the patron and protector of Upper Egypt, which is really the south area of Egypt. Accord-
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