From A Secret Voyage by Zahi Hawass and Sandro Vannini
Head on a lotus flower, from the Funerary Equipment of Tutankhamun – New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty – From Western Thebes, Valley of the Kings, Tomb 62 – (Carter 8), Cairo, Egyptian Museum – This small and attractive head is unique and is certainly an artistic masterpiece. Carter found it at the entrance to the tomb of King Tutankhamun. It is made of wood and shows beautiful features of the Golden Pharaoh. The head, which is carved in the Amarna style, rises from an open lotus flower, a symbolical depiction of the god Nefertem. As the lotus flowers close at dusk and open again at dawn, their blossom is connected to the daily rising of the sun, after a night flight in other regions of the world. The lotus thus symbolises rebirth. This magnificent head reflects the wish of the King to reach eternity and eternal life.