246574

AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF A LATE PERIOD MULTI-PIECE CARTONNAGE FROM THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM IN CAIRO

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Last updated: 03 Jan 2025

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Abstract

The poor conditions of storage in the basement of the Egyptian Museum were the reason for severe damage to an unknown multi-piece mummy cartonnage dating back to the Late Period (780 BC-332 BC). This mummy consists of five separated pieces (a mask, a pectoral, an apron, a stomach, and a foot) on canvas support topped by a ground layer decorated with green, yellow, red, black, and white colors and a gilded layer. All the pieces of the mummy cartonnage have damage in the form of separations, cracks, discoloration, tears, and brittleness in the layers of the canvas support. The research paper presents the result of an examination and analytical study for the layers' structure of the mummy cartonnage. Therefore, the Optical Microscope (LOM), visible light, Scanning Electronic Microscope (SEM), EDX, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and XRF Spectroscopy were used. The results showed that canvas support made of linen in the form of four layers of thin fiber was used in the mask, stomach, and apron pieces. In contrast, one layer of thick fiber canvas was used in other pieces (mask, foot, and pectoral). The ground layer consisted of calcium carbonate, traces of gypsum, and quartz. The painted layer included Egyptian green, malachite, hematite, goethite, goethite with orpiment, graphite, and under layer of Egyptian blue below the green, red, and yellow pigments in a unique technique, especially in the pectoral and foot pieces. It was also noted that animal glue was used in all pigments and colors as a binding medium.

DOI

10.21608/ejars.2022.246574

Keywords

Multi pieces Cartonnage XRD EDX, SEM XRF

Authors

First Name

Ali,

Last Name

M.

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Affiliation

Conservation dept., Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo Univ., Giza, Egypt

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First Name

Abdel-Ghani,

Last Name

M.

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Affiliation

Conservation dept., Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo Univ., Giza, Egypt

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First Name

Abou Seif,

Last Name

N.

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Affiliation

Conservation lab, National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, Ministry of Archaeology and Tourism.

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Volume

12

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

35296

Issue Date

2022-06-01

Receive Date

2021-07-20

Publish Date

2022-06-01

Page Start

29

Page End

40

Print ISSN

2090-4932

Online ISSN

2090-4940

Link

https://ejars.journals.ekb.eg/article_246574.html

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https://ejars.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=246574

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3

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Original Article

Type Code

575

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Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Archaeological and Restoration Studies

Publication Link

https://ejars.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF A LATE PERIOD MULTI-PIECE CARTONNAGE FROM THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM IN CAIRO

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Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023