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Inside The Conservator's Art

A behind-the-scenes look at conserving Egyptian artifacts at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum ofAnthropology

http://conservationblog.hearstmuseum.dreamhosters.com/?p=651

{ 2010 11 30 }

W ax on, w ax off: Undoing early paraffin waxfield treatm ents

Early twentieth century archaeologists working in Egypt sometimes sought to preserve the surfaces ofrecently excavated artifacts by coating them with wax. Authorities like Flinders Petrie and Alfred Lucasrecommended protective beeswax and paraffin coatings. Wax was such a popular treatment material thatHoward Carter, the excavator of Tutankhamuns tomb, even claimed to have employed paraffin wax totreat his mange-stricken pet dog!

George A. Reisner (who excavated much of the museums Egyptian collection) and colleagues appliedparaffin wax to wooden and stone objects in order to prevent the polychrome surfaces from flaking off inresponse to factors like mechanical action, dimensional change of the underlying wood, and soluble salts.

Many objects that were coated with wax in the early twentieth century now have dark, dull lookingsurfaces. Over time, slightly tacky paraffin wax attracts minute particles of dirt and grime. The build-up ofdirt and grime eventually causes the wax-coated surface to appear dark and opaque, sometimesobscuring painted or carved designs.

PAHMA 6-19890 (Naga ed-Deir, c. 2181-2040 BC). Delaminating limestone stela with carved design. Thestela was immersed in paraffin wax (parowax) in 1914. The wax coating accounts for the dark grey color.

Before the exhibition of a wooden ka statue and wooden box from Naga ed-Deir, conservators sought toreduce thick paraffin wax coatings in order to reveal the painted surfaces below.

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PAHMA 6-22886, ka statue (Naga ed-Deir, c. 2345-2040 BC), before treatment.

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PAHMA 6-2068, lidded box (Naga ed-Deir, c. 2040-1782 BC,) during treatment.

After verifying the type of wax with scientific analysis, conservators used heat and mechanical action to

reduce the paraffin wax coatings. Conservator Jane Williams revealed a previously near illegibleinscription on a wooden box lid by heating the wax with a tacking iron and wicking up the softened waxwith synthetic non-woven fabric.

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Conservator Jane Williams reduces paraffin wax on a wooden box lid (PAHMA 6-2068).

A hard cotton tipped dremel and wooden tools were used to reduce dark wax on the wooden ka statue.

Comparison of the proper right arm of a polychrome wooden ka statue( PAHMA 6-22886) during waxreduction. Photograph courtesy of Tom Fuller.

Reduction of the paraffin wax coatings on the ka statue and the wooden box allows viewers to see theiroriginal painted surfaces much more clearly.

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Lid of box(PAHMA 6-2068) before and after treatment. Reduction of the paraffin coating has made thehieroglyphic incription easier to discern.

The darkened paraffin wax coatings on the ka statue and box lid are examples of early treatmentmaterials that have aged in undesirable ways. Conservators now try to use materials whose agingbehavior has been tested and shown to be good over long stretches of time.

Posted by Allison on Tuesday, November 30, 2010, at 4:56 pm. Filed under Conservation treatments,Historical background, Painted wood, Stone. Tagged Jane Williams, Naga ed-Deir, paraffin wax. Followany responses to this post with its comments RSS feed. You can post a comment or trackback from yourblog.