Posted on 06/28/2005 11:03:38 AM PDT by blam
Microprobe makeover for museum's mummy
Selina Mitchell
JUNE 28, 2005
THE CSIRO has teamed up with the National Gallery of Victoria to reconstruct and conserve the last resting place of a teenage Egyptian priestess who died around 700BC.
The coffin lid, one of the first major Egyptian antiquities to arrive in Australia, is in a fragile state. About 60 per cent of the wood, and even more of its painted surface, are lost, but the original bright colours on the remaining pieces survive under layers of dirt – gallery officials think.
"It's good that it's in many pieces, because unlike most items like this it has never been glued, varnished or changed in any way," gallery conservator Marika Strohschnieder said.
"It gives us a unique opportunity to research the materials used in ancient Egypt without adulteration, and then we can reconstruct the coffin, including its outer shape, in a compatible way."
CSIRO scientist Deborah Lau said the agency would use a CSIRO-enhanced microprobe to examine microscopic pieces of paint flakes to check the distribution and identity of the pigment, checking whether the outer layers have changed from the original.
This will help to ensure that any reconstruction is as close to the original as possible.
The sarcophagus arrived in Australia in the 1880s, holding the mummified remains of a 17-year-old priestess, Tjeseb.
The mummy is now in the Melbourne Museum.
The work is possible with an electron microprobe – an electron beam instrument with high-resolution X-ray spectrometry – that allows staff to detect chemical information at micron size.
The CSIRO has designed unique hardware and software for the off-the-shelf microprobe to enhance its abilities to collect information on light and advance its data processing capabilities.
The agency plans to sell its system internationally.
CSIRO Minerals Microbeam laboratory manager Colin MacRae said work with the device usually involved analysis of materials for the minerals and minerals processing industries, but the same techniques could be used in other applications.
A team from the gallery and CSIRO have used the technology to analyse paintings by Mark Rothko and Paul Serusier held at the gallery.
"Understanding the chemistry behind the paintings through analysis helps the gallery to restore the paint surface using materials equivalent to those used by the original artist," Mr MacRae said.
The CSIRO examined paint fragments and mapped polished sections to determine compositional variation across paint layers.
They found that although Serusier's Boys on a River Bank was dated 1906, there was a complete under-layer of paint with an almost identical composition.
The gallery said it was likely the hidden layer was applied much earlier and the new layer was applied to compensate for damage when the canvas was rolled.
CSIRO Minerals has also used the technology to help in understanding marine life and the impacts of global warming.
It has examined polished sections of fish earbones, and will examine coral to learn about temperature profiles, Mr MacRae said.
The Australian
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