a study of the egyptian bronze falcon figures in the walters art gallery

8/18/2019 A Study of the Egyptian Bronze Falcon Figures in the Walters Art Gallery

1/7

A STUDY OF THE EGYPTIAN BRONZE FALCON FIGURES IN THEWALTERS ART GALLERY

Paul Jett, Shelley Sturman and Terry Drayman Weisser

Abstract-The ancient Egyptian bronze falcon figures in thecollection of the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, were stud-ied using radiography, endoscopy and corrosion analysis. Anumber of the bronzes were found to contain bird remains.The study also provided a comparison of the efficacy of different radiographic techniques.

1 Introduction

In the summer of 1981 a study was begun at theWalters Art Gallery, Baltimore, of the collection's bronze falcon figures from ancient Egypt. The studywas initiated when routine examination of one of thefalcons (Figure I; accession no.54.547) led to anunexpected discovery. A small hole (7'3mm x4·8mm) in the head of the falcon was noticed where, presumably, a crown had once been attached.Through the hole a hollow cavity could be discerned indicating that the object was not a solid cast as had been previously stated in a catalogue of the collection[I]. With the hope of learning more about the manu-facture of the falcon, an endoscope was employed toexamine the interior of the object through the hole.(An endoscope is a slender, tubular instrument used for the visual examination of a canal or hollow organof the human body and comprises a light source for illuminating the cavity and, often, lenses for magnifying the image.) Little was noted about thefabrication of the falcon, however, as our attentionwas immediately captured by the discovery of anumber of bones and small fragments of textile withinthe cavity. The size and apparent hollowness of the bones and the presence of textile fragments suggested that these were the remains of a bird originallywrapped in fabric.

The subject of the statuette and a knowledge of ancient Egyptian customs lent some support to theabove theory. The mummification of animals was a

common practice in ancient Egypt and animalremains have been found previously within Egyptian bronze statuary. In 1939, the bones of a fetal cat werefound within a bronze cat figure now belonging to theWalters Art Gallery [2];other finds of animal remainsin the interior cavities of bronze sculpture have beenmade by other workers [3].However, the discovery of what was once possibly a bird mummy in the body of a bronze falcon figure had, to the best of our knowl-edge, not previously been reported.

Received 24 October 1984

112

Figure 1 Falcon nO.54.547.

The first question that came to mind was how the bird remains had been placed within the falcon. Whenthe exterior surface was examined, the answer becameapparent. On the underside of the falcon, behind thelegs, there was what appeared to be a square opening,4 x 4cm, sealed with a bronze plate. It was thendecided that the other falcon figures in the collectionshould be examined for similar features. The WaltersArt Gallery has in its collection a total of nine bronzefalcons from ancient Egypt that appear large enoughto have interior cavities. Of these nine falcons four were found to have unsealed rectangular op~ningsunderneath the body behind the legs, and two werefound with the rectangular bronze plates in place. Onthe other three falcons, there were no apparent open-ings.

The four falcons which are open at the bottom werethen examined. Within one (no.54.2115) a bone wasdiscovered which appeared to be a small vertebra.Within another (no.54.2116), very prominent textileremains were found adhering to the contours of thewalls of the body. Lying between the textile and thewalls was what appeared to be a black bituminoussubstance. Of the other two falcons which were openat the bottom, one (no.54.2119) was found to be filled with what appears to be an earthy material and theother (no.54.393) was empty.

On the inside of three of these falcons (nos.54.2115,54.2116 and 54.393) was a blue corrosion productwhose hue and structure appeared rather different

Studies in Conservation 30 (1985) 112-118


2/7

A study of the Egyptian bronze falcon figures in the Walters Art Gallery

from the typical blue carbonate corrosion productoften seen on ancient bronzes. The appearance of this blue corrosion seemed to agree with descriptions of libethenite, the copper phosphate corrosion productthat can occur when bone is in contact with bronze or copper [4].

The observations cited above stimulated a moreintensive study of the falcon figures. At this point, our interest centered on three questions. Firstly, what typeof bones were in the falcon initially examined?Secondly, was there more evidence to be found of bird remains in those falcons which were open at the bottom? Finally, could we discover what was enclosed within the two falcons which had sealed openings or learn more about the three falcons which had noapparent openings or interior cavities? To answer these questions, the examination of the falcons was pursued using three methods: endoscopy, radiography and corrosion analysis. Each of these approachesto the study will now be discussed separately.

2 Technical examination

2.1 EndoscopyThe use of the various endoscopic procedures wasemployed only for the study of the falcon (no.54.547)where the initial discovery of bones and textiles wasmade. It was solely with this falcon, with the smallopening in the head as the only access to the interior of the figure, that endoscopy was either applicable or necessary.

While the initial examination of the interior of thisfalcon using the endoscope revealed the presence of bone and textile, little else was apparent. This partic-ular endoscope had a relatively weak light source and its lens gave a very distorted wide-angle view. Thus itwas difficult to tell whether all or part of the cavitywithin the falcon was being viewed. (Radiographssubsequently revealed that the cavity extended throughout the length of the body.) It was thendecided to seek the use of equipment which could givea better view of the interior and a photographic record of what was seen.

Two types of endoscopic equipment were used toexamine the interior of the falcon: a fiber-optic naso- pharyngoscope and telescopic bronchoscope. A naso- pharyngoscope is a telescopic endoscope used for theexamination of the nasal passages and the nasal phar-ynx. Bronchoscopes are used for diagnostic purposesand the removal of foreign objects from the tracheo- bronchial tree. The naso-pharyngoscope had a power-fullight-source which gave a much better view of theinside of the falcon. The use of this instrumentrevealed a great deal of blue corrosion which appeared similar to that which had been seen in the other falcons. Photographs can be taken using a naso- pharyngoscope but the resulting definition can be


rather poor because, due to the fiber-optics, the photographic image is superimposed by a grid pattern. Specialists at Johns Hopkins Hospital,Baltimore, suggested that the best photographs for our purposes would be obtained using telescopic bronchoscopes. Two such bronchoscopes were avail-able for use, one with a 4mm diameter and one witha 6mm diameter.

Because of t~e size of the opening, the larger bron-choscope could only be positioned above the openingfor examination and photography while the smaller bronchoscope was used to enter the opening and take photographs of the bones at a very short distance.Excellent views of the interior were obtained using the bronchoscopes. The bones and textile could be seenmuch more clearly and a photographic record wasmade (Figure 2).

Figure 2 Bird remains within falcon nO.54.547.

The photographs of the bones were examined by Dr George E. Watson of the National Museum of Natu-ral History, Smithsonian Institution. His conclusionswere that the bones were definitely bird bones and,

judging from their apparent ossification, most likelyfrom a mature animal. Although the bone element.could be distinguished in some cases, an unambiguousidentification of the bird species was not possible. Theevidence, based on the photographs, suggests thatthese bones might be from a red-footed falcon, a small bird whose migratory path includes the area of Egypt.Removal of the bones for examination might yield more information, but this possibility is not beingconsidered at present.

2.2 RadiographyThe purposes of the radiographic study were to deter-

11 3


3/7


4/7


While the resulting radiographs were excellent interms of the penetration and detail obtained for the bronze, they unfortunately failed to show thatanything lay within the falcon. Because radiographictechniques using X-rays had not answered our ques-tions concerning the contents of the bronzes, the potential of neutron radiography was investigated. *

With this technique, the object is exposed to astream of neutrons. The attenuation of the neutrons,unlike that of X-rays, is not solely dependent on theatomic number (or mass) of the material being radio-graphed. Because of this, less dense materials such as bones or fabric, whose elements have a high neutronattenuation, can be revealed although surrounded bya material of greater density such as bronze, whoseelements have a relatively low neutron attenuation [3,6-12].

Figure 4 Neutron-induced radiograph of falcon nO.54.547.

During two sessions using the nuclear reactor at the National Bureau of Standards, Washington DC,neutron radiographs were made of four of the falconsand of the small double falcon sculpture with the large base. The neutron radiographs of the falcon whichinitiated the study (no.54.547) clearly show the boneslying within the interior of the figure (Figure 4). Theradiographs of the other two sealed hollow-castfalcons (nos. 54.2120 and 54.2118, Figure 5) show thatsomething resembling mummy bundles are present

*The authors are grateful to W. T. Chase for suggesting this tech-nique.


inside their bodies (Figures 6 and 7). This material had left no image on the X-radiographs of these twofalcons. Also revealed by these radiographs was asealed rectilinear opening on that falcon (no.54.2120)where one had not been previously discovered; unlikethe other falcons, this sealed opening was on the chestof the bird. Finally, forms resembling two bundleslying beside one another were seen in the radiographof the base of the double falcon sculpture (no.54.2114,Figures 5 and 7). The radiograph of the figurecontaining the earthy material (no.54.2119) gave nonew information.

One obvious concern in the use of radiography isthe effect it has on the object. While residual radio-activity can be induced in some objects by neutronradiography, this did not occur with the bronzesexamined here nor had it been expected to occur. Inthose instances where residual radioactivity results,the radioactivity usually dissipates quickly, but thisshould be checked for each object. Also, the exposures

used here for neutron radiography were much lessthan those commonly used for the neutron auto-radiography of paintings; previous experiments haveshown that the exposures used for the auto-radiography of paintings are approximately 600 timesless than the dosage which can cause changes inorganic materials [13].

2.3 Corrosion analysisAs was previously mentioned, a particular blue corro-sion product was noticed on the interior of a number of the falcons. Analyses of the corrosion were under-taken in order to determine whether any copper phosphate corrosion compounds were present, indicating possible contact between the bronze and bones.

Samples of the blue corrosion were removed fromthree of the falcons. Two samples were taken from oneof the falcons (no.54.2116), one from underneath the base and the other from ju'st inside the opening to theinterior of the body. From the other two falcons(nos.54.2115 and 54.393), the samples were removed from deep within the bodies. Also, for the sake of comparison, a sample of green corrosion was removed from inside the body of the first falcon examined (no.54.547). As bones had been discovered in two of these bronzes, a positive test for phosphates would not have been surprising; the results would, however,help to determine the feasibility of the tests for provid-ing evidence of bones where no obvious evidenceexists.

Using X-ray diffraction analysis, the samples of blue corrosion were found tb be azurite; the greencorrosion was identified as malachite. No phosphatecompounds were found, nor did X-ray fluorescenceanalyses of the corrosion samples indicate the pres-ence of phosphorus.

Thus, the results of the X-ray diffraction and X-ray

115


5/7

Paul lett, Shelley Sturman and Terry Drayman Weisser

Figure 5 Falcons 54.2118, 54.2114 and 54.2120.

Figure 6 Neutron-induced radiograph of falcons 54.2118,54.2114 and 54.2120.

fluorescence analyses of the corrosion revealed thatwhat were initially thought to be copper phosphatecorrosion products were actually copper carbonates.While it had been speculated that the presence of

11 6

Figure 7 Neutron-induced radiograph of falcons 54.2118,54.2114 and 54.2120.

phosphate compounds in empty falcon figures mightindicate the former presence of bones, the analysestend to suggest the opposite, that is, that the presenceof bones in close contact with bronze, as in two of the



6/7


falcons (nos.54.547 and 54.2115), does not necessarilyleave behind phosphates which might be discovered.Thus the absence of phosphates within a bronze figureof this type does not rule out the possibility that boneswere once present.

Microchemical tests for phosphates were alsoconducted on the corrosion samples using ammonium

molybdate [14]. Although positive results wereobtained for a control sample, for the sample from thefalcon (no.54.2115) which contained a small bone and for the sample from the base of the falcon(no.54.2116) which was empty, the results for thesamples taken. from inside two of the falcons(nos.54.393 and 54.2116), were negative. Interference by either arsenic or silicon may produce spurious posi-tive results with this microchemical test; X-rayfluorescence and X-ray diffraction methods wererequired for accurate analyses.

Conclusion

The use of endoscopic equipment made possible thediscovery of the remains within the falcons. For thisstudy, these tools were invaluable in the examinationand recording of those remains. Although endoscopicdevices have been used before in the examination of artifacts, their use is not common. Endoscopic equip-ment should be employed in the course of exam-ination whenever a hole in a hollow artifact allowsaccess to the interior.

The effectiveness of neutron radiography wasnotable. This technique offers many possibilitieswhich other radiographic techniques do not. Of primeimportance in this case was the imaging of a less densematerial which was entirely surrounded by a moredense material. Either in combination with the infor-mation yielded by other radiographic methods, or where other techniques will not suffice,neutron radio-graphy can provide a great deal of information.

Finally, there seems to be overwhelming evidence of the use of falcon sculptures as containers for theremains of animals. Six, and possibly eight, of the tenfalcon sculptures in the Walters Art Gallery collectionserved this function. The probability is. that thesesculptures contained mummified birds or parts of

birds. The discovery of animal remains in theseancient Egyptian bronzes is most interesting but notsurprising when one considers Egyptian burial and mummification practices. What does seem surprisingis the apparent prevalence of the practice. It must bethe case that Egyptian bronze falcon figures in anumber of other collections contain similar materials.Furthermore, it may also be that Egyptian bronzestatuettes of other animal figures contain remains asdo the falcon and cat figures of the Walters ArtGallery. The conservator, when considering the careor treatment of an Egyptian bronze of this type, must


be concerned with the possible or actual presence of such valuable archaeological material. Unless one isabsolutely certain that no animal remains are present,soaking in chemical solutions and solvents should beavoided.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the following peoplefor their help in this study: Dr Jeanny Vorys Canby,former Curator of Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art, The Walters Art Gallery; Dr George E.Watson, Department of Vertebrate Zoology; Susan IBradon and Walter Brown, SEM Laboratory, National Museum of Natural History; the Endoscopyand Radiology Departments of the Johns HopkinsHospital; and the Neutron Radiography Group of the National Bureau of Standards. The work ofP. R. Jettwas supported by a grant from the National MuseumsAct and the work of Shelley Sturman was supported by the Mellon Foundation.

References

STEINDORFF,G., Catalogue of the Egyptian Sculptures inthe Walters Art Gallery, Walters Art Gallery, Bal-timore (1946) 149.

2 FINK, C. G., and Kopp, A. H., 'An observation regard-ing the ancient Egyptian cult of Bastet', TechnicalStudies in the Field of the Fine Arts 7 (1939) 111-119.

3 ROBERTSON,T. J. M., 'Neutron radiography as a non-destructive tool in archaeology', Non-DestructiveTesting 8 (1975) 17-20.

4 GETTENS,R. J., 'The corrosion products of metal antiq-uities', Smithsonian Reportfor 1963, (Publication No.4588), Government Printing Office, Washington DC(1963) 547-568.

5 TOUT, R. E., GILBOY, W. B., and CLARK, A. J., 'The useof computerised X-ray tomography for the non-destructive examination of archaeological objects' inProceedings of the 18th International Symposium on Archaeometry and Archaeological Prospection, Bonn,14-17 March 1978,608-616.

6 GARNER, C. G., 'Radiology', Non-destructive Testing: aSurvey, NASA, Washington DC (1973) 89.

7 BARTON, J., 'Radiology using neutrons', Studies in Con-servation 10 (1965) 135-140.

8 ROBERTSON,T. J. M., 'Image recording with neutrons', British Journal of Non-Destructive Testing 17 (1975)114-117.

9 GARRETT, D. A., 'Thermal neutron xeroradiography', Dimensions 61 (1977) 22.

10 BERGER, H., Neutron Radiography: Methods, Capabili-ties, and Application, Elsevier Publishing Company,Amsterdam (1965).

11 GARRETT, D. A., and BERGER, H., 'The technologicaldevelopment of neutron radiography', Atomic Energy Review 15 (1977) 125ff.

12 Practical Applications of Neutron Radiography and Gag-ing, ASTM STP 586, American Society for Testingand Materials (1976).

117

http://www.maneyonline.com/action/showLinks?crossref=10.1016%2F0029-1021%2875%2990127-9http://www.maneyonline.com/action/showLinks?crossref=10.1016%2F0029-1021%2875%2990127-9http://www.maneyonline.com/action/showLinks?system-d=10.1179%2Fsic.1965.018http://www.maneyonline.com/action/showLinks?system-d=10.1179%2Fsic.1965.018http://www.maneyonline.com/action/showLinks?crossref=10.1016%2F0029-1021%2875%2990127-9http://www.maneyonline.com/action/showLinks?crossref=10.1016%2F0029-1021%2875%2990127-9http://www.maneyonline.com/action/showLinks?system-d=10.1179%2Fsic.1965.018http://www.maneyonline.com/action/showLinks?system-d=10.1179%2Fsic.1965.018


7/7

13 MEYERS,P., AINSWORTH, M. W., BREALEY,J., COTTER,M. J., HAVERKAMP-BEGEMANN, E., SAYRE,E. V., and VAN ZELST, L., 'The application of neutron auto-radiography in the study of p~intings by Rembrandtand related artists' in Science and Technology in theService of Conservation, lIC, London (1982) 165-168.

14 CHAMOT, E. M., and MASON, C. W., The Handbook of Chemical Microscopy Volume IV, John Wiley & Sons,

Inc., New York (1931) 313.

PAUL JETT, BA, Art and Philosophy, University of NewMexico; Masters degree in Art Conservation, Queen's Uni-versity, Kingston, Ontario. Previously an intern at The Wal-ters Art Gallery, Baltimore, and currently AssociateConservator, Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution. Author's address: Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institu-'lion, Washington, DC 20560, USA.

SHELLEYSTURMAN,BA, MA, Mediterranean Studies, Bran-deis University; MS, Winterthur/University of DelawareProgram in Conservation. Previously a Mellon Fellow at

The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, currently Acting Head of Objects Conservation, National Gallery of Art, Washing-ton DC. Author's address: National Gallery of Art, Washing-ton, DC 20565, USA.

11 8

Paul Jett, Shelley Sturman and Terry Drayman Weisser

TERRyDRAYMAN WEISSER, BA, Art History, SwarthmoreCollege; Diploma in Archaeological Conservation, Instituteof Archaeology, University of London. Currently Director of Conservation and Technical Research, The Walters ArtGallery, Baltimore. Author's address: The Walters Art Gal-lery, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA ..

Resume-Les statues de faucons en bronze datant del'ancienne Egypte et provenant de la Walters Art Gallery aBaltimore ont ete etudiees par radiographie, endoscopie etanalyse de leurs produits de corrosion. Un certain de bronzescontenaient des restes d'oiseaux. L'etude a permis egalementde comparer les differentes techniques radiographiquesutilisees.

Auszug-Die ural ten agyptischen Bronzefalkenfiguren in der Sammlung der Walters Kunstgalarie in Baltimore wurdenunter Anwendung der' Radiografie, Endoskopie und

Korrosionsanalyse untersucht . Bei einer Anzahl der Bronzefiguren wurden Oberreste von Vogeln gefunden. DieStudie ermoglichte eben falls einen Vergleich der Wirksamkeit verschiedener radiografischer Techniken.

Studies in Conservation 30

(1985) 112-1.18

a study of the egyptian bronze falcon figures in the walters art gallery

Documents