Coptic Museum is considered one of the most important museums in Egypt and the Middle East. It contents 11 Photographic albums. These albums contain thousands of photos documenting the museum’s opening, official visits, first showcases in the museum, excavations, and unique masterpieces. These albums have been damaged due to poor storage. A plan has been made to determine the extent of damage and methods of treatment. This research reviews a study of the photographic archive in the Coptic Museum in Cairo as an applied study to obtain a master’s degree in preserving and conserving photographs from Cairo University. An optical microscope (OM) was used to identify the damage on the album’s surface and photographs. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was used to examine the morphology of the surface with the Elemental Analysis Unit (EDX) to determine the elements of photographic prints. XRF analysis proved that silver chloride is the silver halide that was used as sensitive material. FTIR-ATR was used to identify the chemical composition and the active groups. UV photography was used to exam underlayment for the images and watermarks on the paper used as secondary support for the images. This examination showed the presence of biological damage, so that required a biological test, which confirmed the presence of fungi species. The albums were stored in a cabinet with (17–23 °C/40–50% RH).

错误:搜索内容不能为空,请输入英文关键词
错误:关键词超出字数限制,请精简
高级检索

Preservation and Conservation Strategies of the Photographic Archive of the Coptic Museum in Cairo

  • Rasha Shaheen,
  • Youssef Elreweny

摘要

Coptic Museum is considered one of the most important museums in Egypt and the Middle East. It contents 11 Photographic albums. These albums contain thousands of photos documenting the museum’s opening, official visits, first showcases in the museum, excavations, and unique masterpieces. These albums have been damaged due to poor storage. A plan has been made to determine the extent of damage and methods of treatment. This research reviews a study of the photographic archive in the Coptic Museum in Cairo as an applied study to obtain a master’s degree in preserving and conserving photographs from Cairo University. An optical microscope (OM) was used to identify the damage on the album’s surface and photographs. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was used to examine the morphology of the surface with the Elemental Analysis Unit (EDX) to determine the elements of photographic prints. XRF analysis proved that silver chloride is the silver halide that was used as sensitive material. FTIR-ATR was used to identify the chemical composition and the active groups. UV photography was used to exam underlayment for the images and watermarks on the paper used as secondary support for the images. This examination showed the presence of biological damage, so that required a biological test, which confirmed the presence of fungi species. The albums were stored in a cabinet with (17–23 °C/40–50% RH).