Egyptian Cartonnage Mask

Funerary Mask from the Myers Eton College Collection of Egyptian Antiquities at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts; treated for an exhibition called: Sacred and Profane, Treasures of Ancient Egypt; gilding & polychromy; Egypt; 500 BC

Condition: 1. Section of hair (proper left) was broken in an area previously repaired; old discoloured adhesive as well as old in-painting was visible around the breakage; also, the broken section was misshapen; 2. Section of hair (proper right) had an area of an old repair, which was very pronounced due to the texture of the fill (it did not blend in with the surrounding surface); structurally sound; 3. Areas of abrasions and missing polychromy; 4. Areas of old repair

Treatment:
1. Broken section (hair area), proper left: removal of the old discoloured adhesives (two types) from the edges of the broken sections; gentle reshaping of the broken section (using a humidifying chamber), in order for it to fit into its original place; adhesion of the broken sections; creating additional structural support underneath using long grain tissue paper and an adhesive; filling with small sections of grain tissue paper mixed with Methyl Cellulose / water; work undertaken under microscope; magnification 1x; fillings in-painted with pigments and a binding medium; work undertaken under microscope;
2. Improving the old uneven fill by filling it with small sections and in-painting them3. In-painting with pigments; MC also used as a barrier layer to make the in-painting reversible.