The conservation of an ancient Egyptian hollow cast bronze cat raised a series of questions that ... more The conservation of an ancient Egyptian hollow cast bronze cat raised a series of questions that were addressed by analysing its composition, internal structure, porosity and corrosion products. The bronze is a low tin alloy with high porosity. Comparisons with various other bronze cats analysed by Riederer proved difficult and did not lead to a satisfactory geographical or period classification. High level porosity is probably due to the alloy and an inability to off-gas into the mold. A lead filling in the head has been observed by other authors and could possibly have been done in order to adjust the weight of the artefact. Even though the casting was only partially successful, the surface could be finished by cold work. This must have obscured the porosity.
With the removal of most of the external corrosion products from the original surface, finely executed Egyptian workmanship was revealed. Due to the presence of basic copper chlorides, the bronze was stabilized by immersion in a benzotriazole bath and subsequently coated with a protective coating of Paraloid B-72.
The conservation of an ancient Egyptian hollow cast bronze cat raised a series of questions that ... more The conservation of an ancient Egyptian hollow cast bronze cat raised a series of questions that were addressed by analysing its composition, internal structure, porosity and corrosion products. The bronze is a low tin alloy with high porosity. Comparisons with various other bronze cats analysed by Riederer proved difficult and did not lead to a satisfactory geographical or period classification. High level porosity is probably due to the alloy and an inability to off-gas into the mold. A lead filling in the head has been observed by other authors and could possibly have been done in order to adjust the weight of the artefact. Even though the casting was only partially successful, the surface could be finished by cold work. This must have obscured the porosity.
With the removal of most of the external corrosion products from the original surface, finely executed Egyptian workmanship was revealed. Due to the presence of basic copper chlorides, the bronze was stabilized by immersion in a benzotriazole bath and subsequently coated with a protective coating of Paraloid B-72.
Uploads
Papers by Mirjam Balsiger
With the removal of most of the external corrosion products from the original surface, finely executed Egyptian workmanship was revealed. Due to the presence of basic copper chlorides, the bronze was stabilized by immersion in a benzotriazole bath and subsequently coated with a protective coating of Paraloid B-72.
With the removal of most of the external corrosion products from the original surface, finely executed Egyptian workmanship was revealed. Due to the presence of basic copper chlorides, the bronze was stabilized by immersion in a benzotriazole bath and subsequently coated with a protective coating of Paraloid B-72.