Thursday March 28th, 2024
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Germany Offers 50,000 Euros For King Tut's Mask Restoration

After last year's unfortunate incident where Tutankhamen’s iconic golden mask was damaged by personnel at the Egyptian Museum, Germany is now offering to fund the restoration of it.

Staff Writer

The damaging of Tutankhamen’s golden mask by a museum personnel remains a shameful episode in the mind of Egyptians. Providing some relief to antiquity lovers is the news that Germany’s government has offered 50,000 euros to help restore the mask.

Egyptian and German ties appear stronger than ever as on Tuesday, Antiquities Minister Mamdouh Edamaty announced that Germany has generously offered to help financially restore one of history’s most iconic masks. "The procedures needed to complete the handover of this grant to the Antiquities Ministry and immediately start the restoration work are being carried out by the relevant authorities," Eldamaty told Ahram Online.

The unfortunate incident occurred in August of 2014, when custodial staff accidentally bumped the statue, knocking off the Boy King’s beard. Accidents happen; however the real damage was caused by incompetence, as instead reporting the incident, the custodian decided to try to fix the beard by gluing it back on using epoxy resin.

It would not be until months later that the museum would acknowledge the damage done, and when the news broke, the world was shocked at how this could have possibly happened. Experts quickly gathered to investigate the damage and a press conference held led by German conservator Christian Eckmann who announced that the damage was reversible. An international conference is to take place sometime this month, where Eckmann will return to Cairo to explain to the public and scholars the method they will use to restore the beard.

Of course it comes as welcoming news that one of the most iconic Egyptian artifacts will be restored. However, it remains a wonder why Egyptian government need not only foreign experts to restore their own artifacts, but apparently need their money too.