Múzeumi műtárgyvédelem 16., 1987 (Központi Múzeumi Igazgatóság)

Régészeti jellegű tárgyak restaurálásáról - Kovács Petronella: Egy késői kori egyiptomi múmiakoporsó fedelének restaurálása

KOVÁCS, Petronella

Restoration of an Egyptian mummy coffin top from the Late Period - Summary In the first part of her study the author describes how the mummy coffin discovered in 1884 in the course of excavations at Akhmim, Upper Egypt found its way to Hungary. Further on it discusses the technique of the making of painted wooden-mummy coffins recovered at various times from diverse places of worship. The object kept in the Science Collection of the Dunántúli Református Egyházkerület (the Transdanubian District of the Reformed Church) belongs to the group of mummy offins of human shape referring to Osiris. The construction of the top and the bottom was assembled from several pieces by tenon and mortise. The full outer surface of the mummy coffin is covered by coloured depictions and hieroglyphic inscriptions. According to the vertical inscription along the top it was made for Hori, the priest of Her-sa-lset.

The author presents in detail the depictions of the top portraying the dead person as Osiris and gives an account of the results of the material tests carried out preceding restoration. The latter established that the faults of the wooden frame of the mummy coffin which supported the canvas and the priming was corrected by a repair grounding composed of gypsum, clay, ironoxide and some organic matter. The one- -layer, strong canvas was made of linen. The white priming consisted of a mixture of gypsum, chalk and some organic matter. The results of the analysis of the paints are in conformity with those described in A. Lucas: Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries (London 1962) . Although the determination of the coating was not involved in the investigations, the author assumes that the object was coated by an originally colourless varnish. This conclusion was arrived at following Lucas and the claim is that however fast the otherwise sophisticated object was coated, the dark runs of the varnish probably would not have been left on the surface.

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