For thousands of years, in every part of the world, the honored dead were buried with masks that preserved the illusion of life. In the old world, one thinks of the gold funerary mask of the Pharao Tutankhamen, or the so-called mask of the Agememnon form Mycenae in Greece. In the new world, masks were created from stone, in mosaic, or in terracotta. This superb example, though hardly realistic. Leaves one feeling that one has encountered a distinct personality. It is dificult to say if it was molded from life, or merely from the general impression of a human being. As we gaze upon it, we have no difficulty in imagining the living person it represents.