Placed in the north end of the Antechamber, this
figure of
Tutankhamun faced another similar statue,
the two acting as
guardians before the entrance to
the Burial Chamber. Standing approximately five feet
six inches tall, the two statues flanked the
plastered blind wall behind which lay the mortal
remains of the king. The statue is carved in wood,
and gilded bronze is the material of the uraeus,
sandals, eyebrows and cosmetic lines. The whites of
the eyes are crystalline limestone, and the pupils
are obsidian. A black resin covers the exposed parts
of the body, while the clothes,
jewelry, mace and staff are gilded over a layer
of linen and gesso. A thin shroud of linen
originally draped over each figure had all but
disintegrated by the time
Carter opened the tomb.
The positioning of
these statues outside the Burial Chamber may relate
to their protective purpose. The inscription on the
projecting part of the kilt, however, may indicate
another function, since it refers to the statue as
the royal ka of the sun god,
Horakhty. It was this god that the king would
accompany in his solar bark, and it was one of the
gods with whom he would be identified. As such, the
statue could represent one of the aspects of the
king. The inscription also calls the king "Osiris",
an indication that he is dead and has joined Osiris.
This latter association may be the reason for the
color of the visible parts of the body. Osiris was
frequently shown with black skin to symbolize the
fertile land from which all vegetation and,
therefore, all life derived. Sometimes illustrated
with green skin, the color of vegetation, or
perennial life, Osiris symbolized life eternal.