Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (13.2001(2002))

NAQLUN

EGYPT

METHOD OF TRANSFER

The fundamental rule to be observed in
stripping any wall painting is to preserve
the form and plasticity of the work exactly
as it was in its original setting. Here, the
problem was to keep the curvature of the
interior surface of the niche. A reinforcing
framework was therefore constructed in the
following manner.
The inside niche contour was traced
and copied on a 6-mm plywood panel.
Then the outer shape was cut out and
divided in two, following the major crack
in the painting. A wooden skeleton frame
was made to match the shape of the
concave niche, then the plywood board was
bent and attached to it. The idea was to
hold and eventually pull the stripped
plaster, while cutting and transferring.
One of the difficulties was that the
inner surface of the niche was wider than
the outside borders. This meant that the
supporting construction would not enter
in one piece or else that the construction
with the transferred painting could not be
taken out in one piece. Thus, it became
clear that the painting had to be divided,
into at least two or the actual three
sections. The division lines were defined
considering the original and taking care to
avoid damaging the composition aesthet-
ically.
The chosen method was “stacco”,
a technique that requires the mural
painting to be transferred together with
the original plaster. The facing canvas was
bigger than usual and extended about 5 cm
beyond the original layer, covering the
borders of the wooden frame and firmly
attached to it. Then one fragment of the
painting was separated from the rest
without any problems (it just hung there
by the edges), but in the second case, long
chisels and a hammer had to be used to

separate the original plaster from the wall,
especially in the upper part, where the
earlier paint layer was not preserved
(Fig. 2).
After completing the stripping, the
earlier paint layer (representing Christ on
the cross, Fig. 3) (was dry-cleaned with
natural and fiber-glass brushes, soft gums
and wihsab sponges. Tampons of acetone
and alcohol solutions were used for
chemical cleaning of the paint layer. Then
the surface was fixed with a 2% paraloid
B-72 (Rohm and Haas) solution in toluene
The plaster was consolidated with
injections of Primal E330 (1:3 water
solution) and Primal AC-33 (1:3 to 1:1
water solutions) for larger voids and cracks.
The glue injections were preceded by
alcohol injections (40%) for better pene-
tration of the consolidant.
Once the painting was consolidated,
the cracks and empty spaces were filled
with new plaster. The composition of the
mortar was 1 part of lime to 4 of sand, with
a small addition of Primal E330 for more
elasticity. The smaller gaps and cracks were
filled with Italstucco (prod. Ditta
F. Follador-Milano). The retouching and
final aesthetic arrangement was postponed
to the next season, once it will have been
made certain that nothing is happening
with the representation of Christ.
The transferred painting had to be
prepared for future display as a self-
standing object. For this purpose, the
original plaster had to be leveled to a 5 mm
thickness, impregnated with Primal E330
(1:3) and smoothed with lime-sand mortar
with the addition of Primal E330. Two
layers of cotton gauze and a layer of linen
canvas were stuck with Primal AC-33.
Then, a layer of ground (calcium carbonate
with Primal AC-33) was applied, followed

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