Egyptian mummy
[575 - 850BC]
The Conservation Process
In 1998, the Museum’s only adult Egyptian mummy was removed from display during gallery refurbishment. Conservation staff had the opportunity to carry out a thorough examination of the mummy and coffin and identified two major deterioration problems – the presence of salts on the surface of the linen wrapping and flaking paint on the wooden sarcophagus. Identification of materials was undertaken and treatment begun to stabilise problem components.
Thorough testing of adhesives and application methods was undertaken before securing the flaking paint to the wooden substrate using a cellulose ether dissolved in a slow-evaporating solvent. Areas of fragile wood on the coffin were consolidated with an acrylic resin and fills made where necessary using a combination of paper pulp and a cellulose ether. A variety of poultices were tested with the aim of solubilising and removing salts from the bandages using a minimum of water. A cellulose pulp proved most effective and was applied successively to small areas, gently removing the surface deposits.
As conservation treatment proceeded, a volunteer Egyptologist worked to decipher the hieroglyphs which decorate the coffin. Her task was made even more difficult by severe fading of the inscriptions. Further information was gleaned when the mummy had a CAT-scan.
The age of the mummy is uncertain. Samples of linen and wood from the bandages and coffin have been radiocarbon dated at the University of Waikato. Results ranged from 575-850BC, but these figures relate to the plant from which the linen came and the wood from which the coffin was made. Since both wood and linen were recycled in ancient Egypt, the dates give us only a rough guide to the mummy’s age. These estimates now need to be balanced against the stylistic and inscription evidence of the mummy and coffin.
Now that conservation treatment is completed, the mummy has gone back on temporary display in the north-eastern stairwell. She is displayed in a nitrogen-filled display case originally designed by Shin Maekawa of the Getty Conservation Institute. This low-oxygen atmosphere helps to retard further deterioration of the mummy and coffin and ensure the lengthy conservation treatment does not need to be repeated.
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