Image Attribution: “Death Mask of Agamemnon at the ROM” by Terryl Atkins is licensed under CC BY-SA. Royal Ontario Museum, Queens Park, Toronto, ON, Canada (See interactive map)
Contrary to the title this is not the death mask of Agamemnon because the date of the mask (1550 – 1500 BCE) predates the life of Agamemnon and the Trojan War by approximately 300 years. This gold leafed funerary mask forms a reasonable facsimile (iconic sign) of the face while lying down, eyes closed. Death masks were originally used over the face of deceased high-positioned individuals across many cultures. The early versions were only close approximations to the face of the deceased. More recently, exact casts of the face are done immediately after death and reproduced in plaster. Sometimes copies of these masks are available for purchase. Like a photograph they form an indexical link to the person cast.