Egyt museum irresponsibly damages Tut's mask, botch repair

[Crown]

The accusation is fair- but a part of it IS undermined when the country that wants the artifacts back does things like break chunks off a burial mask and try to stick them back on with epoxy.

Yeah, gotta say it's hard to take the 'give it back' tact, when the people who are asking for them back are, well, doing what is described. Just pointing out the obvious pitfall.

[Simon_Jester]

Yes, the question is then, how do you, shall we say... tactfully point out that the person asking for the antiquities to be returned is in no position to care for them effectively and responsibly, without being accused of racism or colonialism?

[Thanas]

You can't. Every state screams racism in these manners.

The trouble is that there is no independent agency which provides a forum to discuss things like this in a neutral manner and which proclaims binding legal judgement. As it is, it is a major hassle right now for the museums. Most museums struggle to get enough personnel to keep the doors open, much less care for things in storage or on display, even more less to do research. Most museums are led by very tiny crews. So dedicating resources and money is a huge strain, especially if you also have to deal with the media, or a foreign state apparatus trying to dig up dirt on you, using smear tactics etc.

For example, in the dispute about Nofretete we had all kind of lies being spread, like the researcher being a Nazi supporting eugenicist, the current director of the museum being a Nazi and that the purchase was falsified. This even went so far as to stupidly manipulate the pictures of the hand over. Thankfully the museum had the original pieces on file. Had the German Government not supported the museum it might very well be that this manufactured scandal would have bankrupted the museum's reputation. As it is, it still had major costs due to lawyers and time spent.

So without an agency being present this is a major problem. There really should be one, but UNESCO has enough problems currently without putting this on their plate as well.

[Borgholio]

I know this is a bit of a big necro, but there is an update on this case. 8 museum workers deemed responsible for the damage are going to trial for gross negligence in their treatment of the mask. Took them long enough...you'd think they would have been disciplined a year ago when news of this came out?

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireSt ... k-36483004

King Tut hasn't been around for a few thousand years, but his power remains: after a botched repair job of the famed pharaoh's beard left scratches on his burial mask, Egyptian prosecutors have ordered eight museum workers to a disciplinary court for "gross negligence."

The 3,300-year old mask, whose beard was accidentally knocked off and hastily glued on with epoxy in 2014, was scratched and damaged during the amateurish repair work, prosecutors said in a Sunday statement, which implicated the then-head of the Egyptian Museum and the chief of the restoration department.

"In an attempt to cover up the damage they inflicted, they used sharp instruments such as scalpels and metal tools to remove traces of adhesive on the mask, causing damage and scratches that remain," it said, citing an investigation. The eight now face fines and disciplinary measures including dismissal.

The mask was put back on display last month after a German-Egyptian team of specialists removed the epoxy and reattached the beard using beeswax, used as an adhesive in antiquity.

A year ago, a museum conservator who was present at the time of the repair told the Associated Press that epoxy had dried on the face of the boy king's mask and that a colleague used a spatula to remove it, leaving scratches. Another conservator who inspects the artifact regularly also saw the scratches and said it was clear that they had been made by a tool used to scrape off the epoxy. They both spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions.

Restoration specialist Christian Eckmann said shortly thereafter that the cause of a scratch found on the mask had had not been determined, but that it could have been recent.

The mask was discovered in a tomb along with other artifacts by British archeologists in 1922, sparking worldwide interest in archaeology and ancient Egypt. It is one of the world's most priceless artifacts and the best-known piece in the Egyptian Museum, a major tourist attraction in Cairo that was built in 1902 and houses ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies.

Lately, King Tut has been at the focus of new archaeology and media buzz after British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves theorized that Tutankhamun, who died at the age of 19, may have been rushed into an outer chamber of what was originally Queen Nefertiti's tomb.

[Iroscato]

Treatment of priceless, ancient artifacts should never bring up memories of the Mr Bean Movie. I need to go and lie down.

[Thanas]

The good thing is that the restoration was a complete success and that the restorator also managed to do a lot of extensive research into the mask.

[Lord Revan]

As for why it took this long to punish those responsible, between the chaos in the middle east and the fact that I suspect the Egyptian goverment wanted to get those actually responsible rather then just punishing some random people. Also I suspect they might have waited to see if the restoration worked or if the masked was permanently damaged beyond any hope of restoration.

[SpottedKitty]

and that the restorator also managed to do a lot of extensive research into the mask.

Intriguing. Any news of what was found?

There have been quite a few Ancient Egyptian TV programmes on here in the UK recently, from the Nefertiti bust controversy to an inquest on Tutankhamen himself. There's a lot of interest in the subject.

[Thanas]

Well, they were the first to x-ray it for example. And there was a first measurement and structure composition done. Results should be published soon.

[Simon_Jester]

I know this is a bit of a big necro, but there is an update on this case. 8 museum workers deemed responsible for the damage are going to trial for gross negligence in their treatment of the mask. Took them long enough...you'd think they would have been disciplined a year ago when news of this came out?

Disciplined, perhaps, but deciding things will go to trial can take a while. Among other things, you may need to do an investigation just to work out who gets charged.