The Ancient Egyptians thought that
after a person died their spirit would be able to leave the body
and travel about. They used painted coffins, as well as special
masks, so that when the spirit returned it could recognise it's
own body.
Tutankhamun's mask is one of the
most famous, and it is made from solid gold decorated with coloured
jewels.
The kings of Ancient Egypt were often buried with very expensive masks, like Tutankhamun, the blue and gold onr, and a much later King called Psusennes who had the gold mask shown here.
Less important or rich people often had masks as well, but these were not made from Gold. This one belonged to a man called Yuya and was made of wood and plaster, but it is painted to look like gold.
Yuya's wife was called Tjuyu, and they shared a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Her mask is inlaid like Tutankhamun's but again is only painted gold.
This Mummy mask is carved from wood but is painted to look like the actual person.
Mummy masks could be made from linen, wood or even Gold or Silver
Some masks were actual copies of the persons face.
A lot of mummy masks were damaged when the mummies were unwrapped.
