Tales of the Funeral Mask Trivia Quiz

Answer: To ensure the spirit would recognize the body in the afterlife.

Egyptians believed in the possibility of eternal life after death IF they were judged to have led a good life by the god Osiris. The overall purpose of mummification, therefore, was to create a body that would last for eternity that the "ka", or "life force" of the person could recognize and subsequently inhabit. Mummification of the face was especially difficult. With the skin being so thin and Egypt being so hot, the embalmer would have to work quickly to preserve the likeness of the individual. If the "ka" could recognize its body, then the "ba", which was the part of the soul that could travel between the worlds of the living and dead, would be able to return to the body every night after spending time in the sunshine. Because the "ka" had eternal life it would need the same accoutrements as it had when living: food, beer, clothing, servants, games, chariots, and a host of other items.

Answer: True

Since the discovery of King Tut's tomb, there has been speculation regarding the burial of a pharaoh in a small tomb that was relatively undecorated. It is believed that when the young king died, perhaps unexpectedly at the age of 18 or 19, the tomb was borrowed from other family members. Some have thought that the glorious funeral mask, along with other artifacts, might have been originally made for someone else. Using modern forensic techniques, Egyptologists have reconstructed the face of Tutankhamon. Of course, it is very difficult to access how closely the mask resembles the face of the king, however, the eyes, nose, lips, and chin are in agreement with the features on the mask. It is probable that the funeral mask was made by artisans during the seventy day period of mummification. To see a facial reconstruction, go to:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/05/0510_051005_tutsface.html

Answer: The sun god

Because gold does not tarnish or deteriorate, it was believed to have magical properties, and was especially associated with eternity. It shone like the sun god, Ra, and was believed to have the same powers. The ancient Egyptians called gold "the Flesh of the Gods", so items that were crafted with the precious metal were believed to have spiritual significance.

Incidentally, since gold was more common in Egypt than silver, silver was more monetarily valuable. Some sources theorize that King Tut was not a particularly wealthy pharaoh due to the fact that few objects in his tomb were made of silver or the valuable metal, iron.

Answer: Book of the Dead

Sometimes students make the mistake of thinking that the Egyptian Book of the Dead was actually one large work. However, it was actually a collection of magical texts. When planning for their funeral, the person was able to choose whichever texts or spells would help them the most in their journey to the afterlife. The spells and texts from the Book of the Dead date back to the beginning of Egyptian history; by the time of the Middle Kingdom, new texts that included illustrations, called the Coffin Texts, began to appear. Commonly these texts were written on the inside of coffins, but they are also found on walls and scrolls. The actual collection of the spells in the Book of the Dead began to appear about 1700 BC.

The journey to the afterlife was dangerous. It was believed that Osiris could be found somewhere in the western desert. Illustrations of both land and water routes were shown in the Book of the Dead, but the peril was so great that it would possible the person would suffer a mishap before reaching Osiris to have his heart weighed. Of course, if that happened, the quest for eternal life was instantly over.

Answer: Upper Egypt

In predynastic times, the ancient Egyptians lived in small societies and towns along the Nile. As time went on, they found it advantageous to unite; it was easier to contain the yearly flooding of the Nile if people worked together in larger groups, and the exchange of ideas led to cultural advances. Approximately 3600 BC, two early kingdoms emerged; Upper Egypt, which was located south along the Nile, was one of them. Nekhbet, the vulture, was the patron of Upper Egypt, and was eventually one of the "Two Ladies" who were the protectors of the unified Egypt.

She was prominently displayed on the hedjet, the white crown worn by the ruler of Upper Egypt.

Answer: Uraeus

As the predynastic Egyptians were joining forces, societies and towns unified into two kingdoms. One of the kingdoms was Upper Egypt; the other, symbolized by the spitting cobra or uraeus, was Lower Egypt. The uraeus was associated with the "eye" of the sun, and protected the leader by spitting fire at his enemies. Wadjet, the goddess symbolized by the uraeus, was the patron of Lower Egypt, which was located at the Nile Delta; together with Nekhbet she comprised the "Two Ladies", who protected the unified Egypt. The leader of Lower Egypt wore the deshret, which was the red crown.

When Narmer, or Menes, unified the two kingdoms in 3100 BC, the hedjet and deshret crowns were placed together and worn to symbolize unification. The fact that both symbols are displayed on King Tut's funeral mask symbolizes the fact that he was king of a unified Egypt.

Answer: Lapis Lazuli

The ancient Egyptians of all social classes wore heavy-painted black kohl eyeliner, which was believed to have potent magical powers. Also called Galena eye paint, kohl was made from a variety of materials, and was a symbol of status and wealth. While peasants wore kohl made from fire soot, King Tut would have probably used a mixture of galena and other semi-precious materials, such as crushed pearls, gold and silver leaf, rubies, or saffron; it is recorded that Queen Hatshepsut also mixed charred frankincense with her kohl. The materials were eventually mixed with milk, water, animal fats, or oil, to assist in application. Originally used a treatment for eye ailments, it was also believed that kohl protected the eyes from the glare of the sun. However, the real power in wearing kohl came from the spiritual beauty that it, along with the other cosmetics used, could evoke. As it turned out, the use of kohl had health benefits for the ancient Egyptians. It actually did prevent certain eye infections, and protect from flies, dust, and the rays of the sun. In addition, the lead-based substances helped produce nitric oxide in their skin, which promoted a better immune system.

In ancient Egypt the blue lapis lazuli was believed to possess life-giving powers, and was used to represent the sky, water, and the universe in general. It is said that Cleopatra ground lapis lazuli and used it for eye make-up! A popular stone in the ancient world, it was commonly used in jewelery, amulets, small statues, and ornamentation, as was the case with King Tut's funeral mask.

Answer: Nemes

The nemes was a striped headcloth worn by pharaohs. Worn by itself tight across the forehead or with the crown, it covered the back of the head and the nape of the neck. With two large lappets hanging behind the ears, it was not considered to be a crown by itself, but was still an important symbol of pharaoh's power. On the funeral mask of King Tut the nemes is made of strips of alternating blue glass and gold.

Answer: Carnelian

The funeral mask of King Tut weighs twenty-four pounds, and was made with solid gold. It measures approximately 21" x 15". The eyebrows and lashes are made with lapis lazuli; the stripes of the head cloth are blue glass which was used in imitation of the lapis lazuli.

Other features include the vulture's head, made of solid gold and decorated with horn-colored glass; the cobra is solid gold as well, decorated with dark blue faience and gold cloisonne inlaid with translucent quartz; its hood is made of carnelian, lapis lazuli, turquoise-colored glass, and quartz. On the chest is a wide collar, decorated with rows of lapis lazuli, quartz and green feldspar with a lotus-bud border of colored-glass-cloisonne work.

This description was taken from "Treasures of Tutankhamun", which was published in 1976 by The Metropolitan Museum of Art when King Tut's artifacts toured the United States.

Answer: Beard

When Howard Carter opened the innermost coffin in 1924, the beard had separated from the funeral mask. It remained unattached until 1941, when it was glued back into place. In all probability, the glue had softened over the years, and that caused the mishap in early 2015 more than careless handling. Workers were adjusting the lighting in the museum case when the beard was knocked off the mask. Told that it had to be repaired immediately because the museum did not want to take the piece out of the display, the workers quickly replaced the beard, but they used a strong, fast drying epoxy glue that was not appropriate for such a delicate piece.

Unfortunately, the repair left behind a yellow glue line that was visible. When workers tried to remove the glue line, the mask was scratched! A German restoration specialist has said that he believes the damage caused by the hasty repair can be reversed.