Mask of Tutankhamun

Eleven kilograms of beaten gold, inlaid with lapis lazuli, carnelian, obsidian, turquoise, and colored glass, form the serene idealized face of the boy-king Tutankhamun, who died around 1323 BC. The vulture and cobra of Upper and Lower Egypt rise from the striped nemes headdress, and a spell from the Book of the Dead runs across the shoulders. Discovered by Howard Carter in 1925 inside the innermost coffin, the funerary mask has become the universal emblem of ancient Egypt and now anchors the Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza.