My project was to replicate King Tut’s mask and adapt it to today’s society. The beautiful and intricate mask of King Tut was designed in the image of the pharaoh and was intended to assist the king’s spirit in its transition to the afterlife. In addition to ensuring that the soul was able to recognize its own body, the burial mask transformed mortals to a godly state and allowed them to pass safely through the underworld. King Tut’s mask weighs about 25 pounds and stands about 2 feet tall. This priceless treasure is composed of a solid gold base inlaid with semi-precious stones such as lapis lazuli, obsidian, and quartz. The face of the mask, meant to be a likeness of King Tut, is made of a smooth, radiant gold. Ancient Egyptians associated gold with the sun god, Ra, and considered it to be a powerful material for aiding pharaohs in their journey to the afterlife. Sitting atop the pharaoh’s head is a traditional headpiece made of gold with bright blue stripes of lapis lazuli. In addition to the striking blue stripes, the headpiece features both a rearing cobra and a vulture. Known together as the “two ladies of the pharaoh”, these figures would have served a dual purpose of protecting the pharaoh from those who might oppose him and symbolize the king’s power over both Upper and Lower Egypt. Notable rings of lapis lazuli encircle the eyes of King Tut’s mask. Elaborate eye makeup was a standard for Egyptian royalty, as it created the almond eye shape which was considered desirable. One of the most notable features of King Tut’s mask is the long, narrow golden beard. False beards similar to the one on the mask would have been worn by the pharaoh as a symbol of his position as a living god and divine being. Coupled with the false beard, the crook and flail crossed over the chest would have emphasized the relationship between Osiris, lord of the underworld, and the spirit of the deceased pharaoh. Spells for protection and guidance from the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead are carved into the back and shoulders. My replication contained a few changes, such as painting King Tut a beard/moustache. The reason I did this was to make King Tut appear masculine. Yet it was kind of a failure. King Tut ended up appearing cross gendered. Which I guess can represent today’s society’s willingness to accept the LGBTQ community and further more. Being exposed to King Tuts mask as a kid always left the idea in my head that King Tut was a female. In the original mask King Tut has very feminine features. Adding a beard to my replication was my way of making it more masculine. Another reason I wanted to recreate King Tut’s mask is that when it was first created it was created with gold and very expensive jewelery that is hard to find on a day to day basis. Creating this project with just paint and paper was very interesting and it looked super close to King Tuts original mask. The art project was very fun!

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