Textiles experiment

Melanie Cagonot <mcagonot [at] sfsu__edu> writes

>For my project, I want to study the linens found on the mummies.
>Researching the historical background of linens in Egypt is no
>problem. What I need help on is the physical aspect:  I cannot
>handle the textiles and obviously I cannot experiment on it.  Is
>there an alternative route for this project?

Three initial possibilities:

    1.  Little has been published on work using modern linen to
        examine how the ancient textiles were produced and
        decorated. It would be interesting to use inks and pigments
        with chewed palm sticks and feathers to reproduce ancient
        decorated textile pieces.

    2.  Modern linen samples could be subjected to different
        conditions simulating burial, effects of resins and body
        exudates to examine the processes of deterioration.

    3.  It might be possible to remove microsamples from the linen
        surface with adhesive tape for examination and analysis.

Useful reference:

    Conservation in Ancient Egyptian Collections, Archetype Press,
    London 1995 - the proceedings of the recent UKIC Archaeology
    Section conference.

The earlier volume Conservation of Ancient Egyptian Materials does
not include linen, but has useful references to conservation and
analysis of Egyptian artefacts. Good luck,

Helena Jaeschke

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 10:45
                Distributed: Thursday, November 7, 1996
                       Message Id: cdl-10-45-012
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