▲One of the most recognized works of art in the world, the burial mask as it looks today. It's layered with high-karat gold and decorated with colored glass and precious gems, including prized lapis lazuli. It weighs 10.23 kg (22.6 lb).

▲King Tut's beard and bead necklace after both items were cleaned. The beard was later reattached.

▲The fantastically ornate burial mask photographed in the 1920s without its distinctive beard.

▲Howard Carter (left) and his team carry out the systematic removal of objects from the antechamber. Carter’s painstaking cataloging of the thousands of objects found continued until 1932.

▲Crates filled with grave goods are brought out of the newly-discovered tomb of Tutankhamun.

▲Arthur Mace of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (left) and British chemist Alfred Lucas, working with the Egyptian government, inspect a spectacular chariot recovered from the tomb.

▲A view of Howard Carter's archaeological excavations of the tombs of Ramses VI and Tutankhamun ("King Tut"), Valley of the Kings, Thebes, Egypt, 1922.

▲The British archaeologist and Egyptologist began excavating the Valley of the Kings in 1917, resuming the dig he had started before World War I broke out.

▲The treasure trove of objects found in the antechamber of King Tutankhamen's burial tomb, photographed in 1923. The hoard of priceless artifacts included an embroidered couch devoted to the goddess Hathor.

▲After years of digging and with money running out, a worried Carnarvon gave the archaeologist one last chance to come up with a result. Pictured is Lord Carnarvon, his daughter Lady Evelyn Herbert, and Carter at the Valley of the Kings in November 1922.

▲The coffin that actually held the mortal remains of Tutankhamun. In all there were four miniature coffins. Each stood in a separate compartment in an alabaster chest.

▲King Tut's mummy shows that when he died he was approximately 18 years old. Pictured is medical imagery of Tutankhamun above a replica of his skull.

▲The coffin is estimated to be worth well over £1 million (US$1.3 million). But of course, this extraordinary artifact is simply priceless.

▲The site of King Tut's tomb lies in the Valley of the Kings, one of Egypt's most compelling tourist destinations. Other top attractions here include the tombs of Ramses VI and Tuthmosis III.

▲Carter and an assistant crouch over Tutankhamen's newly opened sarcophagus. Although the tomb was discovered on November 4, 1922 it wasn't until February 16, 1923 that the innermost shrine was breached.

▲Working under a hot Egyptian sun, bearers carefully remove objects from the tomb.

▲The rear of Tutankhamun's burial mask.

▲On November 4, 1922 Carter finally discovered Tutankhamun's tomb... and made history! Pictured is the unbroken seal of the third innermost shrine.

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Five months after the tomb's discovery, Lord Carnarvon died of a severe skin infection. Eight others who were present that day passed away within a dozen years of the find. Coincidence, or victims of the dreaded curse of the pharaohs?

▲King Tut's brilliant gold coffin is naturally one of the museum's stand-out exhibits.

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The tomb of the young pharaoh as it looks today. Carter designated the site KV62. The wall decorations in KV62's burial chamber are modest in comparison with other royal tombs unearthed in the Valley of the Kings.

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When King Tut isn't touring the world, he can be found as part of the extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities housed in this world-renowned museum.

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A game box and pieces for playing the ancient Egyptian board game of Senet.

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A beautiful canopic jar lid recovered from the tomb.

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The tomb's antechamber was packed with treasure. In fact, a total of 5,398 items were recovered, including thrones, trumpets, daggers, and royal jewelry.

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A chair recovered from King Tut's tomb.

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A winged scarab of Tutankhamun with semi-precious stones.

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Tutankhamun receives flowers from Ankhesenamun (a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt). This elaborate image is on the lid of a box found in King Tut's tomb.

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A wealthy English peer and aristocrat, Carnarvon bankrolled the search for and excavation of King Tut's tomb.

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The now famous burial mask as it appeared in the 1920s. The Boy King was born c.1,341 BCE and died c.1,323 BCE. He reigned for a little under 10 years.

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A day that went down in history, King Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered on November 4, 1922. The momentous discovery by archaeologist Howard Carter introduced the world to the Boy King—and to one of the most prized ancient Egyptian artifacts ever unearthed.

Browse the gallery and find out more about this most famous of pharaohs.