Information about Queen Tuya's mask, one of the most famous masks of ancient Egypt
The Mask of the Beautiful Tuya is a funerary mask made of plaster with gold leaves, of Tuya, wife of Tuya, mother of Queen Tiye, and grandmother of Tutankhamun. It was discovered in the Valley of the Kings in Thebes.
There are thousands of masks from the ancient Egyptian era of kings, queens and other prominent figures in ancient Egypt. The types of these masks vary according to the material they are made of or painted with. There are plaster masks, the manufacture of which began with the idea of an alternative head that matches the features of its owner. This is a type that first appeared in the era of King Khufu. They were placed in the burial chamber, after being shaped from limestone. Leave it unpainted, after adding some accessories such as ears.
In addition to the masks that were made of gold, silver, and granite, there are cardboard masks that appeared for the first time in the era of the First Transition. They were relatively small in size and were made of a reinforced material consisting of layers of linen strengthened with liquid gypsum. Among the most famous masks found was the mask of “Queen Tuya.” Toya was married to Yuya. She is the mother of Queen Ti, wife of Amenhotep III, grandmother of Akhenaten, and great-grandmother of Tutankhamun. She was buried with her husband, Yuya, in Cemetery No. KV46 in the Valley of the Kings.
Toya's mask is from a colorful and inlaid cardboard. The mask features an attractive smile of Mrs. Toya. The eyes, eyelids, eyebrows and wide chest are inlaid with stones and colored glass. The dimensions of the mask are 28 and 40 cm. The mask is located in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
The mask of Queen Tuya is one of the alternative masks to the mask of King Tutankhamun in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, next to the mask of Yuya and Tanis, as they have many gilded collectibles, and it is possible to place the gilded “Tanis” mask in the place of the young Pharaoh King Tutankhamun, and there are 214 artifacts. It is a collection of “Toya and Yuya” collectibles, which includes the mummy of Toya and Yuya and their coffins.
It also included the Yuya Papyrus, which includes spells from the Book of the Dead in the cemetery's corridor, and is 20 meters long. The new collection also included the outer human coffin of Toya and the middle coffin of Yuya. The collection included the canopic box of Toya, which is decorated with gold decoration, and the outer rectangular coffin of Yuya.
Tuya held many religious titles, as well as the title of “Queen Mother, Great Wife of the King,” a title she was very proud of, and recorded repeatedly on her coffins and belongings.
Source: websites