Copper green pigments

Another apparent example of cellulose degradation from copper green
pigment was observed on a late Dynastic painted Egyptian coffin that
we conserved here last year.  The wood beneath areas of green
pigment (identified as malachite) is significantly eroded despite a
ground layer of calcium carbonate-based gesso.  Figures that were
painted with green pigment are negatively imaged by rough
depressions in the wood surface. Larger areas of green, such as the
face, tend to suffer detachment from the wood, apparently due to
decomposition of the wood surface.

Geoffrey Brown
Kelsey Museum
University of Michigan

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 9:60
                   Distributed: Monday, March 4, 1996
                        Message Id: cdl-9-60-001
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