JAIC 2003, Volume 42, Number 2, Article 6 (pp. 261 to 278)

CONSERVATION OF A LYRE FROM UR: A TREATMENT REVIEW

VIRGINIA GREENE

ABSTRACT—In 1976, the University of Pennsylvania Museum Conservation Laboratory took apart the gold, silver, and lapis bull head from a Sumerian lyre. The head, excavated in the 1920s, had been previously restored. The head was taken apart and the component parts cleaned, revealing details of the original construction that had never been recorded. The head and beard were reassembled using more modern materials and a complex armature to support the weight of the lapis beard. After 16 years on exhibit, the head was reexamined for a traveling exhibit, and the methods and materials used in the 1970s were evaluated.
[Spanish Abstract] [French Abstract]

Article Sections:

1. BACKGROUND
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE HEAD
3. INITIAL RESEARCH
4. CONDITION OF THE HEAD BEFORE TREATMENT
5. CONSERVATION OF THE HEAD
6. NEW RESTORATION OF THE HEAD AND BEARD
7. PLAQUE
8. MOUNTING THE HEAD AND PLAQUE ON THE SOUNDBOX
9. THE TREATMENT REVISITED
a: Notes , References , Author Information

Entire Article