Revival of Ancient Egyptian Shroud: Study and Restoration of a Painted Funerary Shroud from Roman Egypt

Abstract

This paper presents the outline of an important conservation and research project conducted at the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow. The object of this study was the unique Egyptian funerary shroud dating to the 2nd century AD (Inv. 1,1a 5747), which displays unusual iconography and belongs to the so‐called ‘Saqqara shrouds’ group or the ‘psychopomp shrouds’. The shroud features a young woman holding the hand of a male child. This rare item underwent a range of technical examinations and, after a long and arduous process was strengthened and transferred to a new, fine cotton canvas backing. In November 2016, the shroud previously kept in storage was installed in the permanent galleries.