Mummy Masks Cartonnage Conservation

Transcription

1 Mummy Masks Cartonnage Conservation By Susi Pancaldo, Gemma Aboe and volunteers from the MA Principles in Conservation Course, July UC45931 mummy mask from Roman period UC31377 mummy mask from early Middle Kingdom period ( BC). 3 UC45849 and UC 45926, mummy masks from Ptolemaic period (305-30BC). 4 UC28084 Mummy mask from early Roman period (late 1 st century AD). 2 5 UC79377 Mummy mask from early Roman period (on display when not undergoing conservation work). 6 Further cartonnage on display in WEC10 and in storage. 1

2 Introduction Funerary cartonnage in ancient Egypt Ancient Egyptian cartonnage is a material made from layers of linen or papyrus, coated with gesso then painted. It was used to make masks (head or upper body covers), foot cases, shaped symbolic plaques and even full body covers which were attached to the mummy-wrapped body prior to burial. During manufacture, moist layers of adhesive-soaked linen and gesso (either calcium carbonate- or calcium sulphate-based), were moulded into a particular shape. After drying, the gessoed surface was smoothed before application of paint or gold leaf. A further layer of gesso was often applied with a brush to the underside of the casing to give it further strength and rigidity. The main periods in which cartonnage was used in Egypt were the Middle Kingdom ( BC), Third Intermediate Period ( BC) and Ptolemaic and Early Roman Periods (330 BC c.250 AD). Each period produced it own distinct style of cartonnage manufacture and decoration. The Petrie Museum houses about 140 pieces of cartonnage, most from the Ptolemaic and early Roman Periods. In , the Friends of the Petrie Museum funded a Cartonnage Conservation project, resulting in reconstruction of about 40 cartonnage funerary masks, some now on display in the museum. Conservation processes: Understanding Materials and Techniques of Manufacture The first step in undertaking conservation is to examine an object closely, both with the naked eye and under magnification. Careful examination will often reveal a great deal of detail about the materials and methods used in the manufacture of the object. It may also reveal how the object was used in antiquity. This cartonnage, for example, has holes at the bottom edges, which we suspect (from comparison with other masks) were used to tie the mask to the body before burial. Many questions raised during close examination of the piece can only be answered through scientific analysis. For example, with this cartonnage mask, we wanted to know more about the specific pigments used to paint the figure. We also wanted to know more about what type of stucco was used. Ruth Siddall, lecturer in Geology at the UCL Department of Earth Science, is undertaking analysis of these materials to help us answer some of these questions. Page 2 of 9

3 During the initial examination and study of an object, a conservator documents any signs of deterioration. Documentation will include written notes and photography and sometimes also x-radiography. After a full assessment of the condition of an object has been drawn up, the conservator will propose a course of action. Some of the major cartonnage reconstruction projects on display in the museum are discussed in this trail. Conservator Barbara Wills working on the V&A mask and the mask undergoing conservation treatment. The Objects 1 UC45931 Mummy mask, Roman period, probably from Hawara. Linen based cartonnage. Our trail of Egyptian cartonnage starts with a mummy mask more properly described as a head cover discovered by archaeologist Flinders Petrie at excavations of an elite Roman cemetery at Hawara. News of the discovery of naturalistic painted wood mummy portraits from the site caused great excitement in Europe. The gilt cartonnage mummy masks, however, were not so well received. Even Petrie referred to them as wretched things with gilt faces and painted head pieces. Mummy mask UC45931 pictured from the side and from the top. Page 3 of 9

4 This mask has a gilt front and Egyptian-style funerary motifs painted on the back. It portrays a young man, with light beard. Broken and distorted due to a long history above and below ground, the mask was recently restored by conservator Richard Jaeschke. The cartonnage structure had to be reinforced from behind. This was accomplished with glass fibre tissue. Missing areas were filled with a stable paste and toned to match the original colour on the back. This work was part of the Cartonnage Conservation project funded by the Friends of the Petrie Museum and carried out by Richard and Helena Jaeschke in UC31377 Mummy mask. Early Middle Kingdom ( BC). Sedment, Tomb Linen-based. This is the earliest cartonnage mask in the Petrie collection, from a coffin for a man named Dudufi or Awyfy in a rich burial ground discovered by Petrie at Sedment. Like other masks from this site, its stylized facial features are painted primarily with light red ochre, black and blue pigments; details of the broad collar are painted in green, red, white and black Organic artefacts from Sedment were generally well preserved, as the site lies well above the Nile flood plain. When examined before treatment in 1983 by conservator Helena Jaeschke, linen layers of the mask were found bent over in areas but still had a flexible condition. Loose and cracked stucco layers were reattached to the linen layers and paint layers were relaxed and readhered to the stucco. No restoration fills were required to stabilise the structure. Mummy mask UC31377 on the left. On the right, examples of materials used in fill experiments on the V&A mask. Page 4 of 9

5 3 UC45849 and UC45926, Mummy masks. Ptolemaic (305-30BC), probably from Gurob. UC45849: papyrus-based cartonnage; UC45926: linen-based cartonnage In the Ptolemaic Period, both linen and papyrus were used to make thin cartonnage. Papyrus-based cartonnage, produced c BC, was often disassembled in the past as the papyrus scroll supports often contained ancient writing, including works of great interest, notably lost poetry and plays by famous Greek authors. Both the linen and papyrus based masks displayed in this case are decorated in a traditional Egyptianising style, with lappets of blue/black hair or headcloth falling in front of the shoulders and chest, and a wedjat eye placed at the centre of a diadem above the forehead. Gilding on the linen-based example may reflect the belief in immortal life, as gold does not tarnish. Both masks underwent conservation in the 1990s with financial support from the Friends of the Petrie Museum. UC45926 was in particularly poor condition due to damage from salt contamination in burial and then water damage in the museum caused by a leaky roof. Extensive analytical work was carried out on this piece, revealing interesting details about the materials and techniques used making it. The square, black and white stickers placed around the mask on its mount are guidelines for an ongoing 3D photographic imaging project. A 3D image of this mask can be viewed on the computer monitor in the museum s Pottery Gallery. Mask UC45849 on the left and mask on the right. Page 5 of 9

6 4 UC28084 Mummy mask. Early Roman period, late first century AD, from Hawara. Linen-based cartonnage with further plant fibre stuffing This cartonnage mask is likely to have been made in the same period as the famous painted panel portraits from Hawara (see showcase Object by Site: Hawara WEC11) as well as plaster portrait heads such as UC19622, also in this showcase. The individualised features of all of these works suggest that, within an iconographic framework, an attempt was made to create images which reflected the appearance of individual people. Cartonnage from this time period tends to be produced from coarse fibrous support materials and thicker layers of stucco. This example is gilt except for details of the garland of red immortelle flowers in the right hand, and the purple band of the garment; the eyes (only the proper right eye is original) are made of glass and calcite stone, with bronze for the eyeframe and lashes. This mask was conserved by the Jaeschke s in the late 1990s and again in 2005, the latter in preparation for a travelling exhibition, when the proper right eye was restored by conservator Renee Stein using modern resins for the eye and tinted Japanese tissue paper for the eye lashes. It was felt that visitors would find the face disturbing without restoration to the eye. Would you? A fragment of a gilt footcase displayed next to this mask, UC28085, is also from Hawara. A more complete footcase is temporarily on view in the Pottery Gallery, along with a 3D model of the footcase. Mummy mask UC28084 on the left and gilt footcase UC28085 on the right. Page 6 of 9

7 5 UC79377 Mummy mask Early Roman period, probably from Hawara. Linen-based, further bulked with plant fibre. In 2002, Rebecca Naylor, a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum, notified the Petrie Museum that there was an old crate there of unregistered material from the 1888 excavations directed by Flinders Petrie at the Roman cemeteries of Hawara. The contents were part of an allotment of finds given to Jesse Haworth, one of Petrie s sponsors, and apparently sent to the V&A for study. The crate contents were transferred to the Petrie Museum in 2004 for registration and conservation and among them, was a cartonnage upper body cover depicting a lady in a red garment, carrying pink immortelles. This mask has recently been conserved with funds from the Friends of the Petrie Museum. On the left the cartonnage mask before conservation. On the right cartonnage mask after conservation. In 2009 Conservator Barbara Wills was commissioned to carry out conservation work on this badly damaged mummy mask. After cleaning and stabilisation, large areas of loss to the lips and chin have been filled. An educated guess has been made in determing the shape of the lips and chin. 6 Further cartonnage on display in WEC10 and in storage Further cartonnage artefacts including masks, footcases and fragments are exhibited on the lower shelf of WEC10. Most of there are from Hawara. The Petrie Museum houses many more cartonnage artefacts in storage; some 140 pieces have been registered in all. Most of these are from Ptolemaic and Roman Period cemeteries at Hawara and Gurob. Among the fragments, some are recognizably from upper body covers, others from footcases, all requiring study and conservation. We are interested in your thoughts about restoration. How do you think the faces should be restored? Let us know... Page 7 of 9

8 The mask before conservation and after some treatment with a blank space for her mouth. How should the mouth, be restored? Should it even be restored? Do conservators and museum professionals impose an identity onto the person underrneath the mask? Does a new mouth tell us who she was? Or tell us who we are? Conservation treatment For the cartonnage mummy masks, the following general steps were proposed: 1 Stabilise and clean, as much as possible, all of the layers of the cartonnage 2. Reattach any loose fragments and realign breaks to the stucco layers as much as possible, introducing an adhesive and support materials where necessary. 3. Create a support mount for the object, which can be used to transport, store and display the mask. As with all conservation treaments, the materials used in treating the object must not harm any of the original materials used to make the mask and must be able to be removed at a later date with as little interference with the original materials as possible. After cleaning and stabilization, the conservators and curators initiated discussions as to whether to fill large losses to the face. There was a consensus of opinion that creating a fill around the nose, mouth and chin mouth would improve the viewer s ability to understand the object as a whole. However, it was also agreed that it is imperative to be able to distinguish the original gilded surface of the face from the modern fill. Page 8 of 9

9 Many conversations ensued and after examining the mouths and chins of a number of gilt cartonnage masks from other collections, we settled on the realization that masks from this period have a high degree of individuality, and we will have to make an educated guess as to what the dead woman s face may have looked like. We would like to know, though, what our visitors would expect to see! Please let us know what you think! Image on the left shows the different bits being pieced together and the mask undergoing cleaning. Further Reading For further information on Egyptian cartonnage masks in the Petrie Museum, see: Page 9 of 9