Talk:Mask of Tutankhamun

Beard - lapis lazuli?
The article says the beard is inlaid with lapis lazuli. I know of no lapis lazuli that is this grey-blue color. lapis lazuli is a very dark blue. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ianbrettcooper (talk • contribs) 14:56, 17 November 2017 (UTC)


 * "The king is wearing a false funerary beard with a curved end, which is again inlaid with lapis lazuli." – Abeer El-Shahawy and Matḥaf al-Miṣrī, The Egyptian Museum in Cairo (2005), p. 212. Firebrace (talk) 23:58, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

The “look”
Is there a name for the “headdress”: especially for the flared/ flange-bit behind the ears.

Do the alternating blue and gold lines represent anything in particular (North-South, Nile-sand, sun’s rays)?

Did blue mean something special (eg like purple in Rome)?

Are the blue-bits lapis lazuli or glass (the article doesn’t currently say)? MBG02 (talk) 05:53, 2 August 2018 (UTC)


 * The headdress is a nemes headcloth. I think I read once that the colors of the nemes were a reference to Ra, the sun god (yellow and gold commonly symbolized Ra, but I don't know about the blue). However, I can't remember what the source was and don't know of any textual evidence that would back up the claim.


 * As the article says, the eyebrows and eyeliner are genuine lapis lazuli, but I read somewhere, can't remember where, that the stripes in the headdress are colored glass. Once you look at detailed photos, it becomes obvious. I should track down the sources to state that. A. Parrot (talk) 06:15, 2 August 2018 (UTC)

Tutankhamen's Mask
That is not the original mask displayed 2601:243:2180:2AA0:21B0:99EF:89DD:DB10 (talk) 05:51, 14 June 2021 (UTC)
 * On the contrary, it certainly is the original mask. On this page you can see all of Wikimedia Commons' photos of the mask on display at the Cairo Museum, including the photos used in this article. Compare those photos with the ones on this page, which are of replicas of the mask. A. Parrot (talk) 14:28, 14 June 2021 (UTC)