Conservation of Objects

Since 1978, the Egypt Centre (formerly the Swansea Wellcome Collection) has been working closely with the Conservation Department at Cardiff University. Over the course of forty-four years, more than 250 objects have received treatment, with many now on display in the museum. As part of the arrangement between Swansea and Cardiff, objects are sent to the latter so that they can be examined and treated by students pursuing their degrees in conservation studies. This hands-on conservation programme is dedicated to teaching the next generation of conservators through problem-based learning on real heritage objects. Students are taught and supervised by international experts in conservation, who keep in regular contact with the Egypt Centre curatorial staff throughout the whole process. Several weeks ago, a batch of objects were returned to the Egypt Centre following treatment of Cardiff, with this blog post highlighting just a few of them. 

One of the most popular objects in the Egypt Centre for both volunteers and the public is W867, a fragment of papyrus containing chapters of the Book of the Dead (fig. 1). The object was purchased at Sotheby’s auction house in 1932 (lot 79), with the catalogue describing it as “a Papyrus Fragment, 22 in. by 10 in., in cursive hieroglyphs, containing the greater part of Chapter XV of the Book of the Dead, with vignettes of the funeral service, tomb sacrifice, etc., neatly executed in outline, framed in passe partout.” The catalogue also notes that it came from the “collection of a gentleman” and that it was part of “a collection formed about 1830 by the grandfather of the present owner”.

Fig. 1: Papyrus of Ankh-Hapi (W867) after conservation

At an unknown date—but probably after it arrived in Swansea in 1971—the papyrus was removed from its frame, Sellotape was used to hold the sections of papyrus together, and the object was inserted between two pieces of plexiglass. The Sellotape, which had turned yellow over the years, was becoming problematic and so the decision was made to send it to Cardiff for treatment. The object was worked on by Ellie Evans, Kate Dieringer, and Angela Leersnyder, who painstakingly removed the Sellotape using an infrared heat tool to release the adhesive, and a spatula and tweezers to detach each piece. Loose fragments of papyrus were then re-adhered back together using 12g Japanese tissue paper and 1.5% methyl cellulose in water w/v. Additional repairs to the areas of missing papyrus were undertaken with tinted Japanese tissue paper. Finally, the papyrus was inserted into the plexiglass case, which was sealed with Filmoplast for display and to ensure protection. The papyrus is now back on display in the House of Death gallery at the Egypt Centre, much to the delight of Egypt Centre staff and volunteers (fig. 2).

Fig. 2: The papyrus on display

The Egypt Centre received several large Coptic stelae as part of the Wellcome distribution in 1971. Most of these can be traced back to the collection of Robert de Rustafjaell, which was sold in 1907. EC521 is one of these stelae, which had been broken into five pieces at an unknown date (fig 3). The stela was restored by Emma Thomas, who firstly removed traces of a previous adhesive and dirt accretions. Because of the weight and size of the stela, holes were drilled into the larger fragments for the insertion of a carbon fibre dowel to hold them together. All the fragments were then reattached with Paraloid B-72 40% before the gaps were infilled. It’s really great to have this beautiful stela restored (fig. 4)!

Fig. 3: W521 before conservation

Fig. 4: EC521 after conservation

Also from the collection of Robert de Rustafjaell—this time from his 1906 sale—is a group of inscribed mummy bandages. These had all been stitched onto boards prior to the sale, which was causing damage to the bandages (fig. 5). Fifteen fragments were sent to Cardiff where they were analysed and treated by Kate Dieringer and Alice Law. Following analysis using a microscope and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), the textiles were removed from the boards. Next, humidification of the fibres was necessary in order to remove the creases. Finally, the textiles were adhered and reinforced with Lascaux 498 HV/303 HV on Japanese tissue paper. This has greatly improved the appearance of the textiles, including revealing sections of the text not previously visible (fig. 6). If any readers of this blog are able to read hieratic and would like to help in identifying the texts, please get in touch!

Fig. 5: EC178 before conservation

Fig. 6: EC178 after conservation

The final object to be featured in this blog is W562, which was purchased by Sir Henry Wellcome while in Cairo in July 1911. In the list of objects purchased at this time, which was compiled by William St Chad Boscawen, W562 is described as a “Prehistoric black bone or ivory knife engraved with hunting scene. Man spearing crocodiles & driving birds. Hippopotamus represented as Thoeris in Greek. Very fine & valuable object. 13" long.” Since the object was broken into several fragments, it was decided to send it to Cardiff for analysis and restoration (fig. 7).

Fig. 7: W562 before conservation

The analysis undertaken by Therese Corton determined that the object was bone rather than ivory, possibly a cattle radius-ulna bone, which was burnt in the region of 285–330°C. Firstly, the previous adhesive (animal glue) was removed with warm deionised water and a scalpel. Dirt was removed with industrial methylated spirits (IMS) (95% ethanol, 5% methanol) and deionised water via cotton swabs. The edges and cracks were consolidated with 5% Paraloid B-72 in 75:25 acetone: IMS. The fragments were then re-adhered with 15% Paraloid B-72 in acetone, tinted with dry pigment (dry umber). Finally, the surface cracks were filled and smoothed with Polyfilla (Acrylic VeoVa-PVAC copolymer with internal plasticiser and additives), which were painted with acrylic paint to match the material of the object (fig. 8). W562 is now back on display in the Fakes, Forgeries, and Replicas case in the House of Life gallery at the Egypt Centre.

Fig. 8: W562 after conservation

We are grateful to all the students who have worked on the objects from the Egypt Centre collection. This work could not be possible without the cooperation between the museum and Cardiff University, particularly with Phil Parkes who has supervised all the work featured in this post. Further conservation work will be featured in subsequent blog posts!