Karitamen's Death Mask
In Nehekharan burials, the idea was to preserve the dead as much as possible, not only physically but visually. To achieve this, corpses were provided with masks painted to match their features, usually from their prime instead of their final age. Wealthier individuals had masks that were carved rather than just painted, and they were made from stone instead of wood. Nobles had masks of metal, often inlaid with precious stones. Kings had gold masks.[1a]
Karitamen’s Death Mask is unusual in that it is not as large as most. The traditional king’s death mask covered not only the entire head but also much of the shoulders and chest, mimicking the dead king’s face, his royal head cloth, and his regal collar. Karitamen's Death Mask only covers his face, chin, and throat. The reason for this is because he was buried in his helm and armour, and those adequately covered his head, shoulders, and chest. Because of the death mask, the helm, and the armour, the Death Scarab’s head and torso were completely protected from the elements and at least partially preserved against the ravages of time.[1a]
Karitamen’s Death Mask is traditional in its materials and construction. It is made of pure gold and moulded to look exactly like the king’s face in his prime. The eyes and brows are detailed with lapis, and a lapis and jade beard springs from his chin, bound in the traditional fashion. After his reawakening, Karitamen removed the pupils from the death mask’s eyes so that he could see while wearing it.[1a]
History[]
Each death mask is made for the individual in question. The mask is kept wrapped in cloth until the burial ceremony, and it is sacrilege to remove one from its owner. Karitamen’s mask was crafted by a master artisan in his capital and was never seen by anyone except the artisan, Tetrahon, and Karitamen himself before its use in his burial.[1a][1b]