An analytical Study of the Paint Layer of the Chalice Chairs’ Icons from the 19th Century A.D. in the Virgin Mary Church in Haret Zuwaila – Cairo

Said, Bassem Isaac; Elserogy, Abdelrahman Mohammed; Mohammed, Mourad Fawzy

doi:10.21608/lijas.2023.232844.1012

An analytical Study of the Paint Layer of the Chalice Chairs’ Icons from the 19th Century A.D. in the Virgin Mary Church in Haret Zuwaila – Cairo

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ M.A. Student, Conservation Department, Faculty of Archaeology, Fayoum University, Fayoum, Egypt.

² Conservation Department, Faculty of Archaeology, Fayoum University, Fayoum, Egypt.

³ Conservation Department, Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.

10.21608/lijas.2023.232844.1012

Abstract

This research deals with an analytical study to identify the paint layer including the preparation layer, the colored materials, the binders and the varnish layer in the four icons of the Chalice Chair from the artworks of the painter Anastasi Al-Roumi Al-Qudsi in the Church of Virgin St. Mary in Haret Zuwaila, which dates back to the 19th century AD, through conducting investigations and various analyzes such as documentation and examination by imaging in both an USB Digital Microscope and a stereoscopic optical microscope, through by the deterioration aspects that the paint layer suffered of were identified. In addition to the analysis by X-ray fluorescence and the Fourier Transform Infrared spectrum which showed that the painter used inorganic pigments mixed them with an organic binder represented in the egg yolk, as well as using shellac resin as a protective layer from the surrounding environmental factors.

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