Earrings of Tutankhamun with Duck Heads

This pair of earrings is the most beautiful of the four pairs discovered in the Tomb of Tutankhamun. The ducks with outstretched wings form a circle and its feet hold the shen sign. The head is made of translucent blue glass and the wing is fashioned in cloisonné.

Under the duck hang gold and blue glass beads with five uraei (rearing cobras). The earrings show a great aesthetic sensibility, and duck held specific erotic symbolism.

From the Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62), Valley of the Kings, West Thebes. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 61969