Perhaps the most impressive piece found in Tutankhamun's
tomb is not the mask, although that is the most well known. The
kings gold inner coffin, shown above, displays a quality of workmanship
and an attention to detail which is unsurpassed.
The coffin is made of solid gold. It is 74" long, 20"
wide and 20" high. The king is shown as Osiris holding the
crook and flail, traditional symbols of kingship.
There is little doubt that the most famous icon from Ancient
Egypt is the funerary mask of Tutankhamun. It is a stunning example
of the Ancient goldsmith's art.
The mask itself is made of solid gold, inlaid with lapis lazuli,
cornelian, quartz, obsidian, turquoise and colored glass.
More mummy masks are shown in the Akhet
Egyptology pages about the Faces
of the dead section.
The kings burial was not, as is commonly believed,
intact when it was found. Howard Carter who discovered the tomb
believed it had been robbed twice shortly after the funeral.
Only the burial chamber itself was untouched. Most of the small
portable items included in the burial had been removed in antiquity.
This included most of the jewelry and all of the essential oils.
The large quantity of jewelry presently on display in the Cairo
museum was mostly found on the mummy itself.
Tutankhamun's tomb contained an elaborate set of Canopic
containers. The calcite Canopic chest, with the stoppers
in the form of the King, contained four amazing canopic coffins.
These seem to have been intended for the same individual as the
second coffin, possibly Smenkhkare and
there is evidence that the inscriptions on them had been modified
to include Tutankhamun's titles. The difference in facial featured
found on the models, shabtis and coffins in the tomb seem to
indicate that items were collected from various sources for the
burial.
The 4 Canopic Coffins were essentially
small copies of the kings second coffin. Like so much of the
equipment found in the tomb they display an extremely high standard
of workmanship.
The Cairo Museum contains a great deal of Tutankhamun's 'treasure'
in addition to the Mask. This delicately inlaid circlet was found
on the head of the mummy when it was unwrapped. It represents
yet another example of the fine detail which the ancient craftsmen
included in the Kings jewelry
Tutankhamun's outer golden shrine was protected by four goddesses,
Isis, Nephthys, Neit and Selket. The transition away from the
Amarna style is clearly shown here. The standing figures are
dressed in the Amarna style, but the representations of the goddesses
on the shrine itself are in the 'traditional' style.
Tutankhamun Index 
