A Visit to the Cardiff Conservation Department

On Monday 06 March, I led a group of Swansea University students to Cardiff University to visit the work performed by the Conservation Department. The Egypt Centre currently has over fifty objects in Cardiff, ranging from a complete wooden coffin, pottery, stelae, painted plaster from Amarna, and coffin clamps. Archives show that objects in the Egypt Centre collection have been sent to Cardiff for conservation treatment since at least 1978. Over the past forty years, some 200+ objects have been treated, many of which are now on display in the Egypt Centre. This blog post will briefly review the trip to Cardiff, highlighting a few of the Egypt Centre objects the students had the opportunity to see.

The tour of the Conservation Department was led by Phil Parkes (Reader in Conservation), who I’ve been working with closely since being appointed Collections Access Manager at the Egypt Centre. Phil (fig. 1) started off by informing the group that the conservation work is undertaken for free by carefully supervised students as part of their degree scheme. Students enrolled in the BSc in the Conservation of Objects in Museums and Archaeology, or an MSc in Conservation Practice carry out hands-on conservation work of genuine museum objects taught by accredited conservators. This agreement benefits both parties since the Egypt Centre is able to support students with object information, context, and feedback to shape their conservation decisions. In return, Cardiff students deliver a constant supply of conserved objects ready for display in the museum.

Fig. 1: Phil giving his talk about the department

One of the highlights of the visit was AB118, a wooden coffin gifted to the Egypt Centre in 1997 by Aberystwyth University. At the time, the coffin was in a terrible state, with the dowels of the wood broken in several places, which resulted in the object splitting apart. Additionally, the wood was covered in a layer of gesso-painted linen, which has become detached from the coffin over the years. The coffin arrived in Cardiff over twenty years ago and has been worked on by numerous students over the years. The coffin lid (fig. 2) is now largely finished, so work has now moved to the trough. This is currently being held together by plastic bands until it can be properly stabilised and repaired (fig. 3).

Fig. 2: Coffin lid following conservation (Ⓒ Cardiff Conservation Department)

The coffin is particularly interesting since it is an excellent example of reuse. On the interior of the coffin, and at least twice on the exterior, the deceased is listed as Ankhpakhered. While he doesn’t possess titles, both his parents are both listed. The decorative scheme indicates that the coffin was manufactured during the Twenty-fifth–Twenty-sixth Dynasty. However, on the exterior of the lid, the owner is listed as Djedhor, who was a Stolist at Akhmim. The areas where Djedhor’s name and titles appear are obvious since they have a clear white background, which is offset from the rest of the coffin. It is unclear when the coffin was usurped by Djedhor. However, when the coffin arrived in Swansea, there were three pieces of cartonnage contained within (AB124, AB125, AB126), which date to the Ptolemaic Period. Where these part of the burial of Djedhor? Perhaps not. Records indicate that the body of a deceased individual was housed within the coffin until the 1950s, but when it was examined it turned out to be that of a woman!

Fig. 3: Coffin though awaiting conservation

During the tour, students were able to see the plaster cast of the statue base of Djedhor the Saviour (W302), which was sent to Cardiff just a few months ago (fig. 4). Avid readers of this blog will know that the statue accompanying this base is currently housed in the Petrie Museum. However, in August 2021, the UCL Culture Heritage and Museums committee agreed to transfer the plaster cast of the statue of Djedhor the Saviour to Swansea to be reunited with the base. The transfer of the statue is expected to take place in the summer of 2022. While the structure of the base is excellent, there are numerous chips to the surface, which will require treatment before both the statue and the base can be displayed in the museum.

Fig. 4: Statue base of Djedhor the Saviour

We are immensely grateful to Phil, Ashley Lingle, and the rest of the conservation team for all their cooperation in working on the Egypt Centre collection. We are proud to have contributed to the development of numerous conservation students over the years, helping to offer hands-on experience with our collection. Thank you!