77001207135540005431155 Essays - Tutankhamun, 2nd Millennium BC

77001207135540005431155 KV62-King Tutankhamun's Tomb The Death Mask of KIng Tut 7900035000 KV62-King Tutankhamun's Tomb The Death Mask of KIng Tut right2300231140 201776009800 2017 King Tutankhamun's Tomb When I was young I loved National Geographic. I loved the photography of places and animals that seemed so foreign as to be almost alien. The March 1977 cover of National Geographic pictured what appeared to be a golden statue from a long-dead king of a wondrous society. It was the death mask of King Tutankhamun. The cover drew me in, and after reading the contents of the issue, I was left unsatisfied. I wanted to know more about ancient Egypt. Such is the power of art. A single image can inspire and change the course of a person's life. That single image spurred in me a desire to learn and discover. On November 6, 1922, British Egyptologist Howard Carter announced that he had made a "wonderful discovery" in the Valley of Kings (James 252). That wonderful discovery was the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamun, hereinafter King Tut. King Tut died unexpectedly at the age of 19 and was entombed in the valley of kings more than 3,300 years ago (Hawass). The tomb was filled with so many items that could be considered works of art that discussing them all would exceed the scope of this paper. So, I will focus on the piece that so captured my imagination when I first saw it. The death mask of King Tut. The tomb was divided into three chambers: an antechamber, a burial chamber, and a treasure chamber. The antechamber was filled with things the pharaoh would need in the next life, such as: funerary beds, chariots, weapons, and even King Tut's underwear. The treasure chamber was filled with what you'd expect, treasure. Unfortunately, the tomb was robbed several times and many of the priceless artifacts were stolen. The burial chamber contained the most famous of all the artifacts in the tomb, King Tut's sarcophagus. When most people think of King Tut's sarcophagus, they picture a giant, roughly human-shaped, golden box, inlaid with jewels. In fact, the sarcophagus is a stone container that contains one or more coffins. In King Tut's tomb, the sarcophagus contained three coffins. The first two were made of gilded wood, and the third coffin was made of solid gold. The images we see of the giant golden coffin are of this third coffin. It weighs 110 kilograms and is adorned with semi-precious stones. Inside this golden coffin rests King Tut's mummy, and the work of art that is the subject of this paper, his death mask. King Tut's death mask is made of solid gold, adorned with colored glass and semi-precious stones, and weighs 11 kilograms. It is adorned with various animals representing god and goddesses that would protect King Tut in the afterlife. Almost every facet of the mask was specifically chosen to represent some aspect of Egyptian religious beliefs. The construction of the mask is remarkable when you consider it was fashioned more than 3,000 years ago. The mask is modular and the metallic pieces are attached to each other with rivets. The mask gives us an idea of what the boy king looked like, but it also tells us another, more interesting story. Detailed analysis of the mask shows that the mask was never originally intended for King Tut. It was designed and intended for Ankhkheperure, better known as Queen Nefertiti. Queen Nefertiti and her husband were widely considered heretics. They broke with the Egyptian tradition of worshipping multiple gods and promoted a monotheistic religion centered around Aten, the sun disk, which angered most of the Egyptian nobility and religious leaders. After Nefertiti's death, there was a concerted effort to erase her and her husband from history. King Tut's death mask was originally designed for Nefertiti, but likely sat unused after she was not afforded a god-queen's burial (Reeves). The mask was then adapted to become King Tut's mask. However, researchers found an inscription bearing Queen Nefertiti's name inside the mask. This work of art revealed a tale fit for an ancient Egyptian soap opera. While some of ancient Egypt's works of art can be attributed to specific sculptors