Grand Egyptian Museum’s restorers succeed in restoring Tutankhamun’s war shield

CAIRO – 9 March 2021: The Grand Egyptian Museum contains a huge amount of artifacts, which exceed 50,000 pieces, including the entire collection of King Tutankhamun.

Recently, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities began implementing the museum’s display of the Golden King possessions within a base of 7000 meters, after restoring them. 

It is worth noting that restorers at the Restoration Center of the Grand Egyptian Museum were able to restore a large number of pieces. Among those pieces was the unique war shield of King Tutankhamun.

Tutankhamun's war shield before restoration - GEM

Director General of Restoration Affairs at the Grand Egyptian Museum Hussein Kamal said that the shield had suffered severe damage since the tomb was discovered in 1922. Most of the leather units were separate from the linen bedding, in addition to the fragility of the skin.

Due to the difficulty of restoring it at the time of its discovery, the unique English restorer Lux - who accompanied the tomb discoverer Howard Carter - made use of paraffin wax to stabilize its condition, and it remained in storage for long periods, until it was transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum.

The restoration plan took about two months, so that the patterns and shapes of the leather units could be studied and classified, and the places of their fixation could be known, using modern methods of analysis and examination.

After restoration - GEM

This very shield comes to light for the first time thanks to pure Egyptian hands that managed to add yet another major achievement to the collection of the Grand Egyptian Museum's achievements, giving lurid proof of the skill and dedication of Egyptians in protecting and preserving their civilizational and cultural heritage.