Beautiful details are hidden under ancient Egyptian paintings. These have now been discovered using a new device that makes it possible to analyze the images layer by layer.
With this so-called portable chemical imager, scientists have studied two king portraits, which can be found in the burial chapels in the famous temple complex of Thebes near the Nile, today known as Luxor. Both paintings date from the Ramessid period, when the pharaohs of the 19th and 20th dynasty ruled Egypt.
On the first painting the researchers have minor changes of arm position discovered while painting, but it is unclear why this was done. In the second painting, a portrait of Ramesses II, many more adjustments were found in the underlying layers of paint. For example, the shape of the crown and other royal objects have changed shape very often. This was probably done because the drawn symbols took on a different meaning over time.
On-site analytics
Researcher Philippe Martinez of the Parisian Sorbonne University talks to Scientias.nl explains that these kinds of adjustments to ancient art are rare and that this discovery is therefore very special. It is still very unclear what the reasons are for the adjustments and how much time has passed over the various paint jobs. Further research may provide answers to these questions. The portable chemical imaging technology is in any case ideal for analyzing the Egyptian paintings on location and will be used much more often in the future.
The painting has been studied layer by layer. Image: Martinez et al.
“Several years ago, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities banned taking (temporarily) samples abroad, no matter how small,” says Martinez. “It is an understandable decision in a country where a lot of historical heritage is still being looted, but the new law makes our job a lot more difficult. We have now succeeded in developing a portable device in our lab with which we can perform the analyzes on location in Egypt, although it is not as detailed as in the lab. The portable chemical imager does not detract from the art in any way. The technology works on the basis of different wavelengths of light – this can be UV, infrared or X-rays – which partly reflect and with which we can identify specific molecules in the substrates,” explains the researcher.
Beauty and divine perfection
The scientists decided to start studying the well-known portraits with the new technique. “We have analyzed two paintings and in this way we are learning more and more about the mysterious ancient Egyptians, their customs, and the norms and values of their society over the years. What was the role of this kind of art in the Ramessid period? As far as we know, they didn’t have a word for ‘art’. For them it was a kind of expression of ‘nefer’, which can be translated as ‘beauty’, but also as ‘divine perfection’. These kinds of artifacts – whether statues, paintings, stone reliefs or wooden dolls – had a deeper meaning in the quest for eternal life and the transition to the underworld of Osiris. Although the elite of the ancient Egyptians certainly experienced an earthly pleasure and longing from looking at the artifacts,” explains Martinez.
Portrait of Ramses II in Nakhtamun Tomb, circa 1100 BC). Image: Martinez et al.
Philosophical musings
A moment alone in the dimly lit and stuffy temple complex caused an eye-opener for the Egyptologist. “I have visited some of these tombs several times over the years. I have talked about it during lectures, both at home and on location. I thought I knew the content like the back of my hand, but when we started this multidisciplinary project, something changed in me. Each of my colleagues looked at the paintings with different eyes, we talked about them together and I decided to be completely alone in the painted chapel for a while. In the warm, humid, dimly lit, silent tomb, I started to look at the walls and the ancient creations very differently. Eventually I understood that everything is a lot more complex than what has been written about this art in the past. Unfiltered reality goes hand in hand with unfiltered imaging technology,” said Martinez.
The scientist feels like investigating many more paintings. “The discoveries we have made in the temple complex of Thebes call for a comprehensive and systematic inspection of all the paintings of the ancient Egyptians. The portable chemical imager, which we have used with great success in this study, is crucial in understanding the physico-chemical backgrounds of the art.”
2023-07-16 09:02:55
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