The “Begram ivories” are widely considered to be miniature masterpieces of Indian art and are one... more The “Begram ivories” are widely considered to be miniature masterpieces of Indian art and are one of the largest archaeological collections of ancient ivories. They were excavated at the site of Begram, in northern Afghanistan, in 1937 and 1939 and belong to a period when Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India were united under rulers of the Kushan dynasty. Divided soon afterwards between the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul and the Musée national des arts asiatiques–Guimet in Paris, the collection in Kabul suffered a disaster during the civil war which ravaged the country during the early 1990s. Some of the pieces were successfully concealed by museum staff but most were stolen, hundreds have since been reported in different collections and very few have yet been recovered. In 2011 a group of twenty bone and ivory plaques was generously acquired for the National Museum of Afghanistan by a private individual. These were scientifically analysed, conserved and exhibited at the British Museum and returned to Kabul in 2012. This book describes their story from excavation to display and return, with individual object biographies and detailed scientific analyses and conservation treatments. It also discusses how these objects have attracted very different interpretations over the decades since their discovery, and how the new analyses shed a completely fresh light on the collection. It is lavishly illustrated in full colour, and includes many previously unpublished views of the objects when they were originally exhibited in Kabul. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the archaeology of Afghanistan, Indian art, polychromy, museum studies, object biographies or the history of conservation. This is available both as an interactive e-book and as a traditional printed volume. An order form is attached which also offers a discount.
In 2010 a group of 20 decorative ivory and bone plaques from the late first-century ad Kushan cit... more In 2010 a group of 20 decorative ivory and bone plaques from the late first-century ad Kushan citysite at Begram, Afghanistan arrived on deposit at the British Museum (BM). The plaques had only recently been rediscovered after being looted from the National Museum of Afghanistan (NMA) in Kabul during the height of the Afghan civil war (1992-1994), and through the generous intervention of a private individual were acquired on behalf of the NMA. These plaques are part of a larger group collectively known as the Begram Ivories, the largest body of ancient Indian ivory carving to survive from antiquity. The pieces were scientifically examined and treated at the BM and subsequently displayed in the temporary exhibition Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World held at the BM 3 March-17 July 2011 before being safely returned to the NMA in July 2012. Immediately prior to the exhibition the first ever scientific examination of these objects was carried out. The organic plaque material, the distribution and composition of the polychromy and the composition of the original metal pins were investigated using non-invasive techniques. Raman spectroscopy established an original pigment palette that included vermilion and hematite (red), indigo (blue) and carbon black, while X-ray fluorescence analysis confirmed that the metal pins were a heavily corroded copper alloy. Multispectral imaging, including ultraviolet-induced visible luminescence imaging, suggested the possible use of a now degraded organic pigment. A manganese-containing black deposit on the surfaces of several of the plaques is believed to be post-depositional, rather than a deliberately applied pigment. The choice of indigo (an organic colourant likely to have been produced in India) as the blue pigment on the plaques, rather than locally available ultramarine (derived from Afghan lapis lazuli), supports a possible Indian origin. The distinctive Indian style and pattern of the carved designs also suggests that these pieces were either imported ready constructed from India or were produced in Afghanistan by local or imported craftsmen working to Indian styles. The opulent sofas and footstools that the vibrantly coloured plaques would once have decorated are prime examples of the lavish international goods that were being traded and used by courtly elites at this time.
In 1971 the British Museum (BM) acquired a recently made Bulgarian kukeri mask as part of a signi... more In 1971 the British Museum (BM) acquired a recently made Bulgarian kukeri mask as part of a significant ethnographic collection that had been specially assembled for the BM by the Bulgarian government. Such masks were worn at annual ritual celebrations and were not generally intended to last for any length of time. The materials used were often cheap and ephemeral, with the result that preserving them in a museum context presents particular problems. By 1991 the set of polyurethane ether (PUR) foam roses and leaves crowning the mask had deteriorated severely and any movement of the object resulted in significant shedding of the foam. In 2004 a desire to redisplay the mask led to its reassessment. A technique devised at the Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE), which uses a combination of an antioxidant (Tinuvin B75) and a consolidant (Impranil DLV/1) dispersed in isopropanol (propan-2-ol) and applied as a fine mist through a nebulizer, was tested on foam samples. The results f...
Kenyon's excavations of Tomb P19 at Jericho revealed wooden furniture and funerary artefacts ... more Kenyon's excavations of Tomb P19 at Jericho revealed wooden furniture and funerary artefacts of high quality that provide an accurate reflection of the esteem in which the individuals buried within it were held. Unusual conditions of desiccation had preserved the tomb's organic materials, but upon excavation deterioration of the organic remains set in very quickly. Despite considerable problems for wood identification and the study of wood technology caused by deterioration during burial and brought about by the conservation methods and materials used at the time, particularly the liberal application of now-discoloured wax, a variety of timbers has now been securely identified. The most recent conservation assessments and treatments of the Tomb P19 wooden artefacts and furniture are described, including a preliminary assessment of the use of laser ablation to remove the disfiguring wax layer, and the implications of this study for the Jericho material on display in the Briti...
The British Museum Technical Research Bulletin, 2012
Joint paper describing the results of scientific research and conservation on an important group ... more Joint paper describing the results of scientific research and conservation on an important group of first century Indian ivory and bone furniture ornaments excavated at Begram and stolen from the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul during the civil war. This work was carried out with permission of Kabul immediately prior to the exhibition of these pieces in the special exhibition at the British Museum, 'Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World' (2011). They had been identified and acquired by a private individual on behalf of Kabul and temporarily and were returned there in 2012 with the assistance of the British Armed Forces.
The “Begram ivories” are widely considered to be miniature masterpieces of Indian art and are one... more The “Begram ivories” are widely considered to be miniature masterpieces of Indian art and are one of the largest archaeological collections of ancient ivories. They were excavated at the site of Begram, in northern Afghanistan, in 1937 and 1939 and belong to a period when Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India were united under rulers of the Kushan dynasty. Divided soon afterwards between the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul and the Musée national des arts asiatiques–Guimet in Paris, the collection in Kabul suffered a disaster during the civil war which ravaged the country during the early 1990s. Some of the pieces were successfully concealed by museum staff but most were stolen, hundreds have since been reported in different collections and very few have yet been recovered. In 2011 a group of twenty bone and ivory plaques was generously acquired for the National Museum of Afghanistan by a private individual. These were scientifically analysed, conserved and exhibited at the British Museum and returned to Kabul in 2012. This book describes their story from excavation to display and return, with individual object biographies and detailed scientific analyses and conservation treatments. It also discusses how these objects have attracted very different interpretations over the decades since their discovery, and how the new analyses shed a completely fresh light on the collection. It is lavishly illustrated in full colour, and includes many previously unpublished views of the objects when they were originally exhibited in Kabul. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the archaeology of Afghanistan, Indian art, polychromy, museum studies, object biographies or the history of conservation. This is available both as an interactive e-book and as a traditional printed volume. An order form is attached which also offers a discount.
In 2010 a group of 20 decorative ivory and bone plaques from the late first-century ad Kushan cit... more In 2010 a group of 20 decorative ivory and bone plaques from the late first-century ad Kushan citysite at Begram, Afghanistan arrived on deposit at the British Museum (BM). The plaques had only recently been rediscovered after being looted from the National Museum of Afghanistan (NMA) in Kabul during the height of the Afghan civil war (1992-1994), and through the generous intervention of a private individual were acquired on behalf of the NMA. These plaques are part of a larger group collectively known as the Begram Ivories, the largest body of ancient Indian ivory carving to survive from antiquity. The pieces were scientifically examined and treated at the BM and subsequently displayed in the temporary exhibition Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World held at the BM 3 March-17 July 2011 before being safely returned to the NMA in July 2012. Immediately prior to the exhibition the first ever scientific examination of these objects was carried out. The organic plaque material, the distribution and composition of the polychromy and the composition of the original metal pins were investigated using non-invasive techniques. Raman spectroscopy established an original pigment palette that included vermilion and hematite (red), indigo (blue) and carbon black, while X-ray fluorescence analysis confirmed that the metal pins were a heavily corroded copper alloy. Multispectral imaging, including ultraviolet-induced visible luminescence imaging, suggested the possible use of a now degraded organic pigment. A manganese-containing black deposit on the surfaces of several of the plaques is believed to be post-depositional, rather than a deliberately applied pigment. The choice of indigo (an organic colourant likely to have been produced in India) as the blue pigment on the plaques, rather than locally available ultramarine (derived from Afghan lapis lazuli), supports a possible Indian origin. The distinctive Indian style and pattern of the carved designs also suggests that these pieces were either imported ready constructed from India or were produced in Afghanistan by local or imported craftsmen working to Indian styles. The opulent sofas and footstools that the vibrantly coloured plaques would once have decorated are prime examples of the lavish international goods that were being traded and used by courtly elites at this time.
In 1971 the British Museum (BM) acquired a recently made Bulgarian kukeri mask as part of a signi... more In 1971 the British Museum (BM) acquired a recently made Bulgarian kukeri mask as part of a significant ethnographic collection that had been specially assembled for the BM by the Bulgarian government. Such masks were worn at annual ritual celebrations and were not generally intended to last for any length of time. The materials used were often cheap and ephemeral, with the result that preserving them in a museum context presents particular problems. By 1991 the set of polyurethane ether (PUR) foam roses and leaves crowning the mask had deteriorated severely and any movement of the object resulted in significant shedding of the foam. In 2004 a desire to redisplay the mask led to its reassessment. A technique devised at the Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency (RCE), which uses a combination of an antioxidant (Tinuvin B75) and a consolidant (Impranil DLV/1) dispersed in isopropanol (propan-2-ol) and applied as a fine mist through a nebulizer, was tested on foam samples. The results f...
Kenyon's excavations of Tomb P19 at Jericho revealed wooden furniture and funerary artefacts ... more Kenyon's excavations of Tomb P19 at Jericho revealed wooden furniture and funerary artefacts of high quality that provide an accurate reflection of the esteem in which the individuals buried within it were held. Unusual conditions of desiccation had preserved the tomb's organic materials, but upon excavation deterioration of the organic remains set in very quickly. Despite considerable problems for wood identification and the study of wood technology caused by deterioration during burial and brought about by the conservation methods and materials used at the time, particularly the liberal application of now-discoloured wax, a variety of timbers has now been securely identified. The most recent conservation assessments and treatments of the Tomb P19 wooden artefacts and furniture are described, including a preliminary assessment of the use of laser ablation to remove the disfiguring wax layer, and the implications of this study for the Jericho material on display in the Briti...
The British Museum Technical Research Bulletin, 2012
Joint paper describing the results of scientific research and conservation on an important group ... more Joint paper describing the results of scientific research and conservation on an important group of first century Indian ivory and bone furniture ornaments excavated at Begram and stolen from the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul during the civil war. This work was carried out with permission of Kabul immediately prior to the exhibition of these pieces in the special exhibition at the British Museum, 'Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World' (2011). They had been identified and acquired by a private individual on behalf of Kabul and temporarily and were returned there in 2012 with the assistance of the British Armed Forces.
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