Egypt 1 Pound (2005)

1 Pound (2005) Tutankhamen burial mask

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The death mask of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun is made of gold inlaid with colored glass and semiprecious stone. The mask comes from the innermost mummy case in the pharaoh's tomb, and stands 54 cm (21 in) high and weighs around 11kg.
The pharaoh is portrayed in a classical manner, with a ceremonial beard, a broad collar formed of twelve concentric rows consisting of inlays of turquoise, lapis lazuli, cornelian and amazonite. The traditional nemes head-dress has yellow stripes of solid gold broken by bands of glass paste, coloured dark blue. On the forehead of the mask are a royal uraeus and a vulture's head, symbols of the two tutelary deities of Lower and Upper Egypt: Wadjet and Nekhbet. Above his perfect golden cheeks, Tutankhamen has blue petals of lapis lazuli in imitation of the kohl make-up he would have worn in life.


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