A Renoir, a Degas, even a Matisse—as pretty as they are—they don’t stand a chance next to a gold pharaonic death mask with its burnished lips and jeweled, unblinking eyes staring across a thousand centuries. The artisans and tomb builders of the New Kingdom were the alpha and omega of awe. They alone could make the gods jealous. No civilization has ever outshone them. Ironically, these underground chambers were never meant to be seen by human eyes.
