Conservation and Restoration of Deteriorated Greco-Roman Organic Dedicatory Panels in Atfiyah Museum Store – Egypt Applied on a Chosen Object

Egypt is famous of its Greco – Roman heritage especially dedicatory panels which were made or carved of stone but it was found very unique colored dedicatory panels which were made of wood covered with textile and had colored view from wood in the surface, these dedicatory panels were very weak and deteriorated, the textile was lost in many places and fragile in the other ones, the wooden panel was very weak also because of the Biodeterioration factors ( Fungi and insects), samples were taken from the wooden panel and textile to identify them, also samples from the red, yellow and black pigments were taken and analyzed with the elemental analysis unit attached with Scanning Electron Microscope (EDAX), biological swabs were taken also to identify the microorganisms which grew on the panel. After the identification of the materials, Restoration processes were started, first the dust and the dirties on the surface were cleaned, then, the consolidation with Klucel G with concentration 4% dissolved in ethyl alcohol, after that, the loss in the wooden panel was completed, the dedicatory panel was ready for the display or storage in the museum, all of these processes will be presented in this research with pictures to explain the restoration processes of this unique dedicatory panel.


Introduction
The Dedicatory panels were used in Ancient Egypt through the ages, first, they were made from stones and after that made from organic materials like wood. The artistic features of the Greco -Roman dedicatory panels impressed from the ancient Egyptian art in representing the Egyptian gods and goddess like: Anubis and Osiris. The dedicatory panels also included the name of the dead.

The History and Artistic Description of the Selected Tombstone
The selected dedicatory panel is one of seven dedicatory panels were found in Shawaf excavation site in Saqqara -Egypt and transported from Egyptian museum in Cairo to Atfiyah museum store for restoration, they belonged to Greco -Roman period in Egypt.
-The Artistic description of the selected tombstone: rectangular wooden plate covered with linen warps and had colored wooden layer fixed on it representing an Egyptian goddess raising one of its hands and holding the life key in the other hand.

Deterioration Factors of the Selected Tombstone
-Dust and dirties on the surface.
-Big loss in the textile warps.

Methodology
Many samples were taken from the wooden panels, textile warps and pigments from the wooden view on the surface to identify the type of wood, textile and pigments.

Wood Identification
The wood's sample was examined by the optical microscope to know its type. (Figure. 2).

Textile Identification
Sample was taken from the textile warps and examined by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). ( Figure. 3-4).

Preparation Layer and Pigments' Type Identification
Samples were taken from the preparation layer (Gesso layer) and analyzed by X-Ray Diffraction analysis to know its component and (FTIR) analysis to know the type of medium of the preparation layer. Also, samples were taken from black, yellow and red pigments to know their components and types by (EDAX) unit attached with Scanning Electron microscope, X-Ray Diffraction analysis and FTIR to know the medium of the pigments. ( Figure. 5-11).

Identification of the Textile's Resin
Sample was taken from the resin on the textile's surface and analyzed by (FTIR) to identify it; the resin is (Animal glue), it became dark because of the decay of organic resins through the ages. (Figure. 12).

The Restoration Processes of the Selected Dedicatory Panel No. 2/17
Before the restoration of the selected dedicatory panel, Foam panel was made to save it during the restoration processes. (Figure.13).

Cleaning Processes
Dust and dirties were cleaned mechanically by brushes and scalpels, the remains of them were cleaned chemically by a solution of ethyl alcohol and water 1:1, the colored part on the surface was cleaned chemically by ethyl alcohol only without water to save the pigments, ethyl alcohol is an antiseptic solvent for the microorganisms growth. (Figure. 14-15).

Consolidation Processes
The selected object was consolidated by Klucel -G dissolved in Ethyl alcohol in percentage 3% to consolidate the colored part and all the dedicatory panel' parts. (Figure. 16).

Loss-Compensation Processes
The loss of wooden panel was completed by cotton saturated with Paraloid B-72 dissolved in acetone 10% in the inner part, the outer part was completed by Glass Microbaloon with Paraloid dissolved also in acetone 10%, the paste was mixed with brown pigment reasonable to the original part color. ( Figure. 17-19).

Results and Discussion
From the examination and analysis of the samples taken from the selected dedicatory panel, the results were as shown: The wood's type of panel is willow wood, sources of the yellow and red pigments are iron oxides and the black pigment is carbon particles. The medium of the pigments is Arabic gum, the preparation layer' components are Calcite as an essential component, Quartz, Magnetite and Halite, the medium of this layer is also Arabic gum. The resin of the textile is animal glue. (Table 1-5).

Conclusion
The selected dedicatory panel is one of seven panels were used for the purpose of dedication and contained views of ancient Egyptian gods and goddess like: Anubis and Osiris, also they contained the names of their owner in some cases, they had various materials like: wood, textile, pigments, resins as mediums and varnish. They exposed to various deterioration factors which affected badly on the organic materials and they need to be restored and conserved, this research sheds the light on one of the seven dedicatory panels from Greco -Roman period in the Egyptian history, it's recommended to provide the ideal environment of preserving to save this precious culture heritage to the further generations.