Medieval Nubian Wall Paintings

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MEDIEVAL NUBIAN WALL PAINTINGS Figure 8.46 Truss with a triangular lattice built of fibreboard according to Jędrzejewska’s method. (Photo: Hanna Jędrzejewska and Edward Jędrzejewski, courtesy of the National Museum in Warsaw.) Figure 8.48 Attaching a support structure to a transferred painting according to Jędrzejewska’s method. (Photo: Hanna Jędrzejewska and Edward Jędrzejewski, courtesy of the National Museum in Warsaw.) Figure 8.47 Faras Cathedral: support structure for the niche with the representation of the Virgin and Child. (Photo: Hanna Jędrzejewska and Edward Jędrzejewski, courtesy of the National Museum in Warsaw.) formed directly on the backs of the paintings (reinforced with aluminium mesh). The structures were not only poorly attached to the original, but they were also unstable and very heavy. In the end, this method was abandoned and most paintings treated under Hanna Jędrzejewska’s direction received a rigid support structure resistant to deformation. Supports developed in the National Museum in Warsaw by Hanna Jędrzejewska Hanna Jędrzejewska devised new supports for the Faras wall paintings in the National Museum in Warsaw. These were developed according to the state of knowledge and materials available at the time. Some of the early solutions were later replaced using more sophisticated, lighter materials. The artificial support, intended to be removable, also had to allow for the setting of original fragments slightly above the background level (Jędrzejewska 1965a: 230–31). Its design benefited from consultations with specialists and numerous tests (Jędrzejewska 1966a: 85–9; 1966b: 205–6; 1992: 204–5). The gypsum supports were removed, a layer of fibreglass-reinforced mortar was applied to the back of each painting, and a new support was constructed consisting of two fibreboards joined with brass bolts. The inner board was attached to the back of the original, while the outer layer constituted a lattice structure that could be removed at any time (Jędrzejewska 1965b: 243–4). After completing the first two paintings, the method was modified and most of the paintings were completed using this new method. Jędrzejewska used earlier prepared structures consisting of only two perforated fibreboards fixed to an internal truss with a triangular (Fig. 8.46) or rectangular lattice built of fibreboard – or, in the case of larger paintings, of wooden slats attached using PVA or polyester resin as adhesive. The support achieved was a honeycomb structure, 3–5 cm thick, loadbearing, rigid but at the same time fairly lightweight, attached to the back of the painting using a thick mixture of polyvinyl acetate dispersion, chalk and sand, and left to dry under pressure. The adhesive penetrated the perforations, additionally reinforcing the join. Openings in the boards also functioned as ventilation holes (Fig. 8.47). The structures were larger than the original paintings, leaving a margin to be filled with background 120
CONSERVATION OF NUBIAN MURALS Figure 8.49 Representation of St Amone attached to a support before application of the external background. (Photo: Hanna Jędrzejewska and Edward Jędrzejewski, courtesy of the National Museum in Warsaw.) 121
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Medieval Nubian Wall Paintings

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