Multi-analytical approach for the study of an ancient Egyptian wooden statuette from the collection of Museo Egizio of Torino

Abstract

In the field of Cultural Heritage, the interdisciplinary and multi-technique approach to the study of ancient artifacts is widely used, providing more reliable and complementary results. To study these great value objects, non-invasive approach is always preferred, although micro-invasive techniques may be necessary to answer specific questions. In this work, a study based on both non-invasive and micro-invasive techniques in a two-step approach was applied as a powerful tool to characterize materials and their layering, as well as to get a deeper understanding of the artistic techniques and the conservation history. The object under study is an ancient Egyptian wooden statuette, belonging to the collections of the Museo Egizio of Torino. Analyses were performed at the Centro Conservazione e Restauro “La Venaria Reale” (CCR), starting from non-invasive multispectral and X-ray imaging on the whole object in order to obtain information about the technique of assembly and on some aspects of the constituents materials, and subsequently, non-invasive XRF analysis and FT-IR, SEM-EDX and optical microscopy on micro-samples. This work is intended to lay the groundwork to the study of other wooden objects and statuettes belonging to the same funerary equipment, with the definition of a measuring protocol to study the most significant aspects of the artistic technique.