Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Mask
This interesting relic of remote antiquity is at present preserved in the Museum of the East India Company. It was found by Colonel Rawlinson while engaged in prosecuting the discoveries commenced by Layard and Botta, at Nineveh and Babylon, and is supposed to have belonged to King Nebuchadnezzar. The body was discovered in a perfect state of preservation, and the face covered by the golden mask is described as handsome, the forehead high and commanding, the features marked and regular. The mask is of thin gold, and, independent of its having once belonged to the great monarch, has immense value as a relic of an ancient and celebrated people.