Organic residue analysis of Egyptian votive mummies and their research potential

Vast numbers of votive mummies were produced in Egypt during the Late Pharaonic, Ptolemaic, and Roman periods. Although millions remain in situ, many were removed and have ultimately entered museum collections around the world. There they have often languished as uncomfortable reminders of antiquarian practices with little information available to enhance their value as artefacts worthy of conservation or display. A multi-disciplinary research project, based at the University of Manchester, is currently redressing these issues. One recent aspect of this work has been the characterization of natural products employed in the mummification of votive bundles. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and the well-established biomarker approach, analysis of 24 samples from 17 mummy bundles has demonstrated the presence of oils/fats, natural waxes, petroleum products, resinous exudates, and essential oils. These results confirm the range of organic materials employed in embalming and augment our understanding of the treatment of votives. In this first systematic initiative of its kind, initial findings point to possible trends in body treatment practices in relation to chronology, geography, and changes in ideology which will be investigated as the study progresses. Detailed knowledge of the substances used on individual bundles has also served to enhance their value as display items and aid in their conservation.     

The evolution of Lucio Fontana's painting materials

Abstract

The study focuses on the range of pigments and media that the Italian artist Lucio Fontana (1899–1968) employed for selected works dating between 1949 and 1968. Samples were taken from ten groups of works, all on canvas support, as well as from painting equipment that survived in the artist's former two studios. Techniques of analysis used were pyrolysis-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry for media identification, and laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and Raman microspectroscopy for pigment identification. Fontana's reputation as a daring and experimental artist, best known for his group of slashed paintings called tagli, is seen to correspond with certain unusual material choices he made. The study also points to several links that exist between seemingly unrelated cycles. These links are, among others, based on experiences with in part novel media such as oil, alkyd, polyvinyl acetate, acrylic, acrylic–vinyl, and mixtures of them. With regard to pigments, the selection of samples showed that they were mostly of a synthetic organic nature.