Mask of Iineferty

This painted wooden mask was designed to cover the head and chest of a mummy, serving to identify the deceased and provide a permanent face for the spirit in the afterlife. The figure wears a dark, shoulder-length wig and an elaborate, wide collar necklace featuring intricate floral and geometric patterns in red, yellow, and blue pigment. Above the forehead, a stylized vulture head emerges from a winged pectoral design, symbolizing divine protection.

The mask represents the Egyptian concept of the 'Ka' or life force, emphasizing the preservation of the individual identity beyond biological death, a core preoccupation of ancient Egyptian funerary religion that significantly influenced later Neoplatonic views on the soul's survival.