Egyptian Funerary Boat

Wooden funerary boat 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; wood; Egypt; 500 BC

Condition: surface was heavily soiled with dirt particles; there were areas with white powdery accretions on the surface; two wooden sections were loose; some of the wooden figures and other parts were moving and needed adhesion; one end of the boat was damaged and some of the wooden sections there were flexing; some of the polychromy (that is still remaining there, now highly discoloured) was delaminating

Treatment: 1) Surface soiling as well as white accretions were removed by using dry cleaning methods. Firstly, a low power vacuum cleaner and brush were used to remove the loose dirt particles. The more stubborn dirt was then removed with a non-residual smoke sponge. This revealed the dark brown appearance of the surface, which seems to be intentional; 2) Broken sections were adhered to the object with Paraloid B72 in Acetone; 3) The fragile end of the boat as well as other sections that needed adhesion were also secured to their places with Paraloid B72 in Acetone.  A syringe was used to access deep crevices; 4) The same method was used to consolidate delaminating paint layer.