King Tutankhamun's mask back on display

King Tut's burial mask returns to Egyptian Museum.

King Tutankhamun's golden burial mask went back on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo on 16 December after a delicate restoration process following a botched repair job which made headlines around the world.

In August 2014 museum staff accidentally broke the blue-and-gold-braided beard off the priceless mask before re-attaching it hastily with superglue. The incident occured as employees carried out repairs to the lighting in the display case.

The 3,300-year-old mask underwent a recent eight-week restoration by a team comprising German and Egyptian experts who used wooden tools and heat to remove the glue resin and reattach the beard with beeswax.

The pharaonic mask was among an extensive trawl of artefacts discovered by British archeologists in Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922.

The gilded mask is arguably the best-known piece in the collection of the Cairo museum which was built in 1902 and houses ancient Egyptian artefacts and mummies.