Tutankhamun's Mask

© Griffith Institute. Image credit: Griffith Institute, University of Oxford

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Notes

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Tutankhamun's gold mask is the most iconic object from the tomb and was found placed over the head of the King's wrapped body. Harry Burton's photograph shows the mask supported on a wooden stand. Its surfaces are dulled by a layer of wax with more than one purpose: to temporarily fix and protect the inset decoration during transportation and as a coating often applied to reflective surfaces by photographers to reduce glare. Howard Carter described Tutankhamun's face from the mask as bearing a 'sad but tranquil expression', commenting later that it was 'suggestive of youth overtaken prematurely by death'.

Griffith Institute, University of Oxford

Oxford

Title

Tutankhamun's Mask

Date

1925 & 2020

Medium

digital scan

Accession number

Burton p1545 colour

Acquisition method

original glass plate negative, gift, 1946; digital scan, commissioned and presented to the Griffith Institute, 2020

Work type

Digital art

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Griffith Institute, University of Oxford

Sackler Library, 1 St John Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 2LG England

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