Tutankhamun Mask

The mask of Tutankhamun.

The face represents the pharaoh's standard image, and the same image was found by excavators elsewhere in the tomb, in particular in the guardian statues. He wears a nemes headcloth, topped by the royal insignia of a cobra (Wadjet) and vulture (Nekhbet), symbolising Tutankhamun's rule of both Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt respectively. The ears are pierced to hold earrings, a feature that appears to have been reserved for queens and children in almost all surviving ancient Egyptian works of art.

Less of a crown and more of symbol of a pharaoh’s power, the nemes was a headdress that covered the whole crown, the back of the head and the nape of the neck. Usually striped with gold (to represent the ruler’s wealth), the nemes had two large flaps that hung behind the hears and draped over the front of the shoulders.