Artist Sculpts Real Pharaoh Based On Skull Tomography And 3D Model

To complete the most realistic facial reconstruction of the pharaoh Tutankhamun, who ruled ancient Egypt more than 3,300 years ago, Canadian sculptor and forensic artist Christian Corbet allowed himself no artistic liberties or creative licenses during the process. He relied on only the most objective science to guide his talent.

The project was made for a documentary about the “boy king”, who earned this nickname for becoming pharaoh at just 9 years old. The work was based on a 3D model created from scanned images of Tutankhamun’s skull by computed tomography.

The work was completed in two stages: first, finalized as a forensic sculpture, without adornments, ears, without facial expression and with eyes closed. Once such a version was registered, the Canadian artist was then able to allow himself a little creativity, opening the pharaoh’s eyes, giving a slight inclination to the facial expression, as well as adorning the sculpture with a crown. “But again, there was no resource manufacturing. Even the ears were carefully thought out by all of us,” said Corbet.

The CT scans of the skull were performed by Andrew Nelson, from Western University, in Canada, and one of the biggest challenges was to “teach” the software to differentiate the pharaoh’s skull from the layer of linen soaked in resin used by the ancient Egyptians to preserve the shape of the face during mummification. In addition to the scanned skull as a base, the process used tissue markers indicating the depth of the facial flesh at different points, based on the anatomy of the Egyptian people today.

We worked from the 3D model of the skull, then added the muscle layers and effectively built the face. The anatomy of the skull guided the facial reconstruction, so I think we came up with a more realistic look than anything we’ve seen in the past,” said Nelson. “The forensic sculpture was based on skull science, and the tissue measurements and markers were based on the average Egyptian man,” explained Corbet, reiterating that there was no creative license in the process. “Each stage was photographed to prove my work”, reiterated the artist.

Ancient Pharaoh Tutankhamun ruled Egypt for only a decade, between the years 1332 and 1323 before the Common Era, having died at the age of 19 without being a sovereign of special prominence. His fame in modern times is due to the fact that his tomb was the only one found intact until today. There were all the artifacts, treasures and even the footprints of its builders untouched inside. This includes the mummy “wearing” the famous golden death mask. The PBS documentary “Tutankhamun: Allies & Enemies” was made to celebrate the centenary of the discovery of the tomb by British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922.

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