DOI issue:
Egypt
DOI article:Czaja-Szewczak, Barbara: Textiles conservation, 2001
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41369#0185
NAQLUN
KGYPT
helpful in this respect, as were the loose
threads that remained on the left side in
consequence of changing warp colors in
a part of the design. Acid-free paper was
used again to ensure proper storage
conditions.
ND.99409: “PILLOW” TEXTILE
The last to be treated this year was
a “pillow” that had been excavated from
burial T.127 in 1999 (Fig. 3).4) The three
pieces of linen and silk were folded and
laid on top of some branches under the
head of the deceased. The pillow was
presumably made of two fairly identical
pieces that had been sown together, but its
original dimensions can no longer be
reconstructed. The silk tapestry weave
decoration consists of a row of antithet-
ically composed hares in intertwining
medallions, sandwiched between two rows
of palms and further still, another row of
medallions with animal representations
and wavy and geometric ornaments. Rows
of inscriptions in Arabic run amidst this
decoration.
The plain parts of the fabric were
executed in plain tabby weave. The textile
is largely discolored, but to judge by a
single preserved piece, it once featured rich
saturated colors - red, yellow, black, green,
blue, white and cream. In 1999, it was
provisionally cleaned of sand and dirt,
using fine squirrel-tail brushes and a mini
vacuum cleaner. It was then washed, using
a fabric softener, Pretepon G, which is also
useful in removing any remaining dirt.
Once rinsed in distilled water, it was
spread out on a glass pane and dried flat
after dabbing away excess with tampons.
This year the textile was treated with
Lichenicide and doubled onto frame-
mounted, pre-shrunk linen cloth of natural
beige-gray color. The seams with which
particular fragments of the pillow had been
joined together were now removed to
eliminate creasing and the additional
harmful pressure on the warp and weft
threads. The threads used for seaming were
preserved in the conservation document-
ation. Once the textile had been couched
with laid stitch using silk yarn as before, it
was taken off the frame and transferred to
a 70 x 100 cm piece of cardboard lined
with acid-free paper.
Appropriate storage space in the form
of a wooden cupboard with shelves 90 cm
deep was prepared for the treated textiles
in the expedition's storeroom at the
monastery of Deir el-Malak Ghubrail.
OTHER WORK
One of the most striking textiles to be
found in the Naqlun cemetery — shroud
fragment Nd.993115) — was subjected to
preventive disinfecting in order to
counteract any damaging microbiological
processes that may have begun. Since its
discovery, the textile had developed spots
of white deposits and discoloration.
Lichenicide was sprayed on the entire
surface of the object and covered with
4) Cf. B. Czaja-Szewczak, “Textiles from Naqlun, 1999”, PAM XI, Reports 1999 (2000), 137-138, Fig. 3 (detail, before
conservation) and cover.
5) Cf. W. Godlewski, PAM XII, Reports 2000 (2001), 141.
183
KGYPT
helpful in this respect, as were the loose
threads that remained on the left side in
consequence of changing warp colors in
a part of the design. Acid-free paper was
used again to ensure proper storage
conditions.
ND.99409: “PILLOW” TEXTILE
The last to be treated this year was
a “pillow” that had been excavated from
burial T.127 in 1999 (Fig. 3).4) The three
pieces of linen and silk were folded and
laid on top of some branches under the
head of the deceased. The pillow was
presumably made of two fairly identical
pieces that had been sown together, but its
original dimensions can no longer be
reconstructed. The silk tapestry weave
decoration consists of a row of antithet-
ically composed hares in intertwining
medallions, sandwiched between two rows
of palms and further still, another row of
medallions with animal representations
and wavy and geometric ornaments. Rows
of inscriptions in Arabic run amidst this
decoration.
The plain parts of the fabric were
executed in plain tabby weave. The textile
is largely discolored, but to judge by a
single preserved piece, it once featured rich
saturated colors - red, yellow, black, green,
blue, white and cream. In 1999, it was
provisionally cleaned of sand and dirt,
using fine squirrel-tail brushes and a mini
vacuum cleaner. It was then washed, using
a fabric softener, Pretepon G, which is also
useful in removing any remaining dirt.
Once rinsed in distilled water, it was
spread out on a glass pane and dried flat
after dabbing away excess with tampons.
This year the textile was treated with
Lichenicide and doubled onto frame-
mounted, pre-shrunk linen cloth of natural
beige-gray color. The seams with which
particular fragments of the pillow had been
joined together were now removed to
eliminate creasing and the additional
harmful pressure on the warp and weft
threads. The threads used for seaming were
preserved in the conservation document-
ation. Once the textile had been couched
with laid stitch using silk yarn as before, it
was taken off the frame and transferred to
a 70 x 100 cm piece of cardboard lined
with acid-free paper.
Appropriate storage space in the form
of a wooden cupboard with shelves 90 cm
deep was prepared for the treated textiles
in the expedition's storeroom at the
monastery of Deir el-Malak Ghubrail.
OTHER WORK
One of the most striking textiles to be
found in the Naqlun cemetery — shroud
fragment Nd.993115) — was subjected to
preventive disinfecting in order to
counteract any damaging microbiological
processes that may have begun. Since its
discovery, the textile had developed spots
of white deposits and discoloration.
Lichenicide was sprayed on the entire
surface of the object and covered with
4) Cf. B. Czaja-Szewczak, “Textiles from Naqlun, 1999”, PAM XI, Reports 1999 (2000), 137-138, Fig. 3 (detail, before
conservation) and cover.
5) Cf. W. Godlewski, PAM XII, Reports 2000 (2001), 141.
183