Mask of Agamemnon

This so-called mask of Agamemnon of the Mycenaean Collection, is the best known of Schliemann's finds from the royal tombs at Mycenae. A death-mask, it was made from a thick sheet of metal hammered against a wooden background, with the details chased on later with a sharp tool. It illustrates the dignified image of a man with an oblong face, wide forehead, long fine nose and tightly closed thin lips. The eyebrows, mustache and beard are indicated with repouss? parallel lines. Two holes near the ears were used to hold the mask in place with twine over the deceased's face. The five gold masks discovered in Mycenae's Grave Circle A were probably made for rulers. This one, the only mask showing a bearded man, stands out for its elegance and the intensity of the facial characteristics. National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/4/eh430.jsp?obj_id=4503