Abstract
The aim of this paper is to study deterioration phenomena of foot case cartonnage from Saqqara area, Egypt. There are many damage problems such as: accumulation of dust, stains, cracks of ground layer and detachment of paint and gilded layers. An analyses and investigations of different samples were performed using a number of different analytical techniques. Light microscopy (LM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy coupled with attenuated total reflection (ATR-FTIR) were used. Analytical studies indicated that, cartonnage was composed of two layers; the coarse ground layer consisted of calcite and quartz as while the finer ground layer contained calcite only. Two layers of preparing double of linen textile were used as a separate layer between the previous ground layers. The pigments used for the decoration of cartonnage were identified as hematite, cinnabar and cuprorivaite. Gilded layer was identified as gold and silver. Microbiological investigation indicated the presence a fungal and bacterial infestation. The results obtained gave important knowledge about the deterioration processes of the foot case cartonnage.