The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is to host tomorrow, Sunday, its first international conference, to discuss and select the best method to transport and display the treasured collection of King Tutankhamun from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square to the GEM.

GEM Director General Tarek Tawfik said the conference will host experts and curators from 15 countries at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) for five days where they would present scientific assessments of methods to guarantee safe transportation, effective conservation and appropriately display the Tutankhamun collection at the GEM.

The conference is held in the wake of reports published early this year on the inappropriate restoration of the beard of the boy king’s golden mask, now exhibited at the Egyptian Museum. Restorers used a simple epoxy resin to reattach the beard after it was dislodged during moving.