This interdisciplinary project examinesÌý17 ancient Egyptian stelae,Ìýand fragments, made from limestone, pottery and wood, in the Chau Chak Wing Museum that were produced and decorated from the Second Intermediate Period (c 1650-1550 BC) to the Ptolemaic Period (c 332–30 BC).Ìý
It brings together an environmental scientist, geologist, stone carver, conservators and an archaeometallurgist, who are conducting the technical analyses on the stelae, in conjunction with Egyptologists, to provide a holistic understanding of the materiality, production and function of ancient Egyptian stelae.
The focus is on the type of material used, and its origins, how they were made and decorated, the types of tools and pigments used, and evidence of modifications and reuse.Ìý
Findings will be interpreted in the context of the objects' history, inscriptions and iconography, and are currently being prepared as an edited monograph titled Egyptian stelae in the Chau Chak Wing Museum: their history, production and usage in context.
The New Kingdom component of this study has been generously supported by theÌýÌý(CACHE) at Macquarie University. For more about this, visitÌý.Ìý
Header image: Lower fragment of a former round-topped limestone funerary stele, 18th Dynasty (1479–1390 BC), Thebes, Upper Egypt, Nicholson Collection,ÌýNMR.7
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Phone:Ìý+61 2 93512812
Email:Ìýccwm.info@sydney.edu.au
Chau Chak Wing Museum
University Place
Camperdown NSW 2050
