Ancient Egyptian coffin prepared for the Book of the Dead exhibition at the British Museum
About this video
A British Museum conservator, Lin, seals down a loose piece of paint on an ancient Egyptian coffin. She applies white spirit so the glue will reach deep into the crack, touches the crack with a fine brush so the glue is drawn in, then presses it down through Japanese paper.
You'll be able to
- describe the steps used to fix loose paint on the coffin.
- explain why white spirit is applied before the glue.
Key words
- conservator
- A specialist who looks after and repairs old objects so they last.
- white spirit
- A liquid applied first so the glue can penetrate deep into the crack.
- Japanese paper
- A thin, strong paper used to press the paint down gently.
Transcript
British Museum conservators doing what they do best looking after objects that are thousands of years old Lin has found a loose piece of paint on this coffin that needs sealing down she applies white spirit to the Troublesome area so that the glue she is about to use will penetrate deep into the crack making a fine point on her brush she is ready to apply the glue the brush only needs to touch the cracked area and the glue is sucked up now all she needs to do is lightly rub her finger over some Japanese paper and the cracked paint is history
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