Egyptian Golden Masks

Ancient Egyptians believed in the concept of life after death. The death masks for men consisted of red paint tones while yellow was for women. The death mask was a part of the preserving the dead and funeral rites. After the body of the deceased was carefully mummified, a sculpted mask was put on the face of the dead.

The ancient Egyptians believed that this mask would strengthen the spirit of the dead person and also protect its soul from the evil spirits. These death masks showcased the status of the person in the soiety before his death. The best known mask is that of Tutankhamun's burial mask which was made of gold.In the event of the death of a person of royal class, the mask had expensive jewels and lapis lazuli on it.

Death masks were also made of linen or papyrus. These masks were then painted to resemble gold. The masks had eyebrows, nose, hair styles and jewellery painted on them. The very objective of the death mask was enabling the dead to have a face in the afterlife so that the spirit can identify the body.

The ancient Egyptians considered the death of a person as a new journey in afterlife. It was believed the people that the body of a person consists of three souls namely, ka, ba and akh. It was said that if the physical body of the deceased was kept properly, then these souls would unite.

Egyptian Mummification and Masks

The dead person's body was preserved by the process of mummification. In the tombs of the dead, water and food was kept so that the soul is not starved. Other items kept in the tomb include games, jewellery, model figures called shabti or such things that the dead used during his lifetime.The death rituals comprise of embalming and mummification of the dead.

The body was placed in a man-shaped coffin and was ornamented to resemble the dead. The coffins were later on kept in protective stone caskets. An important ritual was the opening of the mouth. The priest would perform ritual of opening of the mouth.This was believed to enable the dead to be reborn in the afterlife and possess the power of speech, mobility and the ability of eating.

Funeral procession was crucial part of the death rituals. During the death rituals the priest wore a mask of the jackal headed god Anubis.Things or goods used by the dead during his lifetime were placed next to him in the tomb. Funerary literature was kept with the deceased that was said to comprise of spells and instructions to guide him afterlife. In some ancient Egyptian burials, funerary boats were a part of the custom.