Latest updates of each artifacts' group
Wood
Textile
Mural paintings
Target artifacts groups
Learn about the groups into which target artifacts are categorized.
Wood group
8pieces of wooden artifacts were chosen as target artifacts, 5 chariots and 3 beds of king Tutankhamun, 2 of which are lead target artifacts and the other 6 pieces are follow artifacts.
Chariots: 2 of the 5 chariots, currently exhibited in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo, both are thought to be made especially for the ritual, and were made by utilizing bentwood technique to make the body and wheels, and the surface is decorated with gold leaf over white substrate. Moreover, it's constructed with composite materials such as stone and metal in the decoration of the cockpit.
The other 3 chariots are thought to be made for hunting. So when they are compared to the ritual ones they seem more practical, and their design is simple. However, the body is manufactured with bentwood technique, and uses stone and metal in joining parts and decorations like the ritual chariots.
Beds: On the other hand, the 3 large ritual beds are manufactured by processing wood and constructing it together to form the body part. On top of it there are gold leaf decorations over a white substrate. Also, the bed's bracing posts are decorated with Lion head, Hippo head, Bull head respectively, and decorated with stone, glass and ivory.
Mural Paintings group
7pieces of wall paintings and stone were chosen as target artifacts, 1 of which is a lead target artifacts and the other 6 pieces are follow artifacts. Ini-Senefru-Ishetef's mural paintings were originally painted on the plaster substrate on the surface of the mud brick wall of his mastaba tomb in Dahshur. However, in the 19th century the wall surface was cut and moved to Egyptian Museum in Cairo, then displayed within wooden showcases that are fixed to the walls. These paintings are separated and piled up into different cases which made understanding of the whole context very difficult, and therefore diminishing the meaning and value.
Furthermore, the surface deposit such as efflorescence of salts can be observed. Therefore, suitable analysis and conservation treatments will be determined through the project. Additionally, it is suggested to arrange the scenes of mural paintings from Ini-Senefru-Ishetef's tomb and King Senefru's limestone according to their original wall compositions in GEM and to put them together to form the story in a way that is easily understood.
Textile group
57pieces of textile were chosen as target artifacts, 7 of which are lead artifacts and the other 50 pieces are follow artifacts. As for textile of King Tutankhamen, the level of deterioration is not the same for every artifact. However, generally the fibers that construct the textile are deteriorated and in an extremely brittle condition. When the textile artifacts were excavated, most of them were found either folded or rolled up.
As for the artifacts where the fibers are extremely deteriorated, it will be very difficult to unfold them. Additionally, among these target textile artifacts, there are some artifacts which use dyed fabric that is now faded throughout the years.