The Grand Egyptian Museum’s restoration centre has carried out a series of training programmes in Egypt and abroad to exchange expertise and knowledge in conservation and museum studies, its director said on Sunday.
“The programmes aim to cement the centre’s position as one of the leading restoration and conservation facilities in the Middle East and Gulf region,” Hussein Kamal told a seminar organised by the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) at the museum.
The programmes also seek to transfer expertise to specialists and institutions working in the field and strengthen their professional capabilities, he said.
The seminar focused on the GEM-GHUB project, which aims to establish the GEM as an international centre for heritage conservation and scientific research. It was attended by museum chief executive Ahmed Ghoneim and Ebisawa Yo, chief representative of JICA’s Egypt office.
Kamal highlighted the restoration of a shield belonging to King Tutankhamun as one of the centre’s most notable projects.
The shield is believed to be the only surviving example from ancient Egypt made from both leather and metal, according to studies, he said.
The artefact was badly damaged, but detailed analysis of its leather components, spine-like sections and support structure enabled the restoration team to successfully reassemble it and restore its original form.
The team also sought to determine whether the shield had been used for ritual purposes or as a functional object, and to study the materials and techniques used to make it and their effectiveness in providing protection.
To answer those questions, the researchers reconstructed the shield using materials and techniques believed to have been used in the original and conducted practical performance tests.
The results showed that the shield was functionally effective, indicating that it was not merely symbolic or ceremonial but was capable of serving a practical purpose, Kamal said.
The restoration and reconstruction project was carried out by a multidisciplinary team comprising conservators, museum and archaeological-collection curators, and engineers.
Centre specialists have published dozens of peer-reviewed studies in international journals, including the Journal of Cultural Heritage, Studies in Conservation and Heritage Science. They have also taken part in international conferences organised by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and other forums focused on restoration and conservation.
