How Did Ancient Egypt Use Death Masks

The Ancient Egyptians made use of masks during sacred ceremonies rituals and for mummified bodies. The mask was a way to express their fantasy for their religion beliefs and the afterlife. Therefore, there was two types of masks, one for the priests and kings in the ritual ceremonies and the other was for covering the mummified face and was called death masks. All types of masks were decorated and painted as a mean to increase their values. Temples were believed to be the dwelling places of the gods aspect and the statues of the gods were believed to be the embodiment of the god, hence the offerings of food and drink. Only priests and the Pharaoh were allowed into the scared temples and they were wearing masks. Masks displayed their vision

These were called death masks. These masks were used to cover and protect and face of mummies and ensure that the spirit of the dead person was able to recognize the head the body. Without a physical body the soul had no place to dwell and became restless. Not all Ancient Egyptians could afford the mummification costs. For those who could afford it, they had elaborate masks that would resemble an idealized version of themselves – perhaps in their youth – but with divine features such as the gilded skin and blue hair. The other reason for using death mask, was to strengthen the chance of acceptance into the afterlife by projecting an image of themselves that is appealing to the gatekeepers of the afterlife, the gods that would judge and determine their

Those who could not afford gold leaf and precious minerals, but still could afford a mask, would have theirs made of wood or other less-costly materials, such as plaster or hardened mummy shrouds, yet with idealized features such as large eyes, red skin tones for men and yellow skin tones for women, and other embellishments. Other masks were made of linen or papyrus and painted to look like gold for both women and men. Masks were embellished with paint, using red for the flesh tones of males and yellow, pale tones for females. Added to this were composite, inlaid eyes or eyebrows, as well as other details that could elevate the cost of the finished product considerably. Hence, indications of social status, including hairstyles, jewelry and costumes (depicted on body-length head covers) are often helpful in dating masks. However, the idealized image of transfigured divinity, which was the objective of the funerary masks, preclude ed the individualization of masks to the point of portraiture. The results are that we have a relative sameness in these objects with anonymous facial features from all periods of Egyptian