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Greek Death Mask and Gold Grave Goods Assemblage from a Warrior's Burial 6th century BCE
This mask with a separate nose piece, band, ring, and plaque were found, with other bronze armor (for example Walters 54.2456), in a tomb in northern Greece. The red discoloration of the gold suggests that the objects adorned a body that was cremated on a funeral pyre and then reassembled and placed in a secondary burial.
The mask is slit along the ridge and bottom of the nose; the five pairs of holes along the opening allow for the attachment of the separate nosepiece. The band is stamped with a double guilloche pattern. The plaque is diamond in shape, stamped with patterns including a rosette at the center. The ring with a convex top is crudely made, typical of adornments that were fashioned solely for burial.
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland USA
