The golden mask of Tutankhamun is seen during its restoration by German specialists in glass and metal antiquities restoration at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo on Tuesday. Work has started on removing a crust of dried glue left on the beard of legendary boy pharaoh Tutankhamun’s golden mask by a botched repair job on the priceless relic. The beard fell off in an August 2014 accident at the Cairo Museum. Photo: AFP

 

Restoration of the golden mask of King Tutankhamen, one of ancient Egypt's most famous artifacts, is underway at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, a German expert overseeing the restoration works said Tuesday.

"We hope that we can finish everything until the end of this year, or let us say after two months," German conservator Christian Eckmann told reporters during a press conference at the Egyptian Museum.

"We have not yet taken the beard off so far. We need to know the exact situation under the beard," Eckmann said.

The German expert added that the team will develop a concept on how to repair after examining the situation of under the king's beard.

"There are some ways of course, we can decide properly what we have to do," he said.

In January, media reported that the long shinny blue beard of the king was damaged by the museum's cleaning workers and then was glued back onsite hastily and unprofessionally.

According to the reports, dried glue was visible along the joints between the beard and the mask.

Tutankhamun, who ascended to the throne at the age of nine and died at the age of 19, is the world's best known pharaoh of ancient Egypt.

The young king ruled from 1332 BC to 1323 BC, during a period known as the New Kingdom in Egypt's history.

He won his fame for his tomb, which was discovered by British Egyptologist Howard Carter in 1922 and has remained one of the best preserved.