This golden diadem, or royal headdress, was found on the head of King Tutankhamun’s mummy. The headdress is made of gold, colored glass, and semiprecious stone. The headband fastens in the back so it can fit over a wig. Attached to the hinges are two flexible gold ribbons decorated with the cobra and vulture. Additionally, a set of longer ribbon-like pieces hang down and are inlaid with circles of semiprecious stones.
King Tutankhamun’s symbol–the hooded cobra and vulture–faces out from the headband to protect the king from harm throughout his journey into the Afterlife. The cobra and the vulture are detachable and could have been used with other headdresses. In addition to being decorative, the winding line of the body of the cobra ran across the crown of the head, stabilizing the diadem.
Inlaid Diadem with Vulture and Cobra
Gold, glass, obsidian, carnelian, malachite, chalcedony, lapis lazuli
Dynasty 18, reign of Tutankhamun (1332–1323 B.C.)
Thebes, Valley of the Kings, tomb of Tutankhamun