CAIRO: Youm7 published exclusive photos of the iconic funerary mask of Tutankhamun being packaged up for undergo restoration by a German restoration team.
The museum hosted journalists Tuesday to witness the transportation of the national treasure, which was the subject of a scandal earlier this year.
Museum workers tasked with the care of the mask had brushed against it, causing the beard to fall off; the workers then tried to fix the beard with household epoxy glue, leaving visible marks on the priceless mask, which they then reportedly tried to remove using an instrument that left scratches.
Museum workers pack the golden mask of Tutankhamun
Renovating the museum’s masterpiece will be funded by the German Foreign Ministry, known as the Federal Foreign Office.
“As a part of its Cultural Preservation Program, Germany’s Federal Foreign Office is providing 50,000 euros ($57,000) to help fund the restoration of the gold mask from the burial treasure of the Egyptian King Tutankhamen,” according a September release by the Minsitry of Antiquities.
Museum workers pack the golden mask of Tutankhamun
The project will be implemented by the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo and the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz in consultation with an Egyptian‑German scientific commission, according to the press release.