Ancient Egyptian Paintings May Be Restored by Ancient Pigments Recreated in Italian Lab

Ancient Egyptian Paintings in King Tut's Tomb

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Egyptian officials have given Trapani, Italy-based conservation lab ISAD, permission to examine ancient Egyptian wall paintings' fragments to explore their origins and to develop an understanding of why their colors faded. Giuseppe Claudio Infranca of ISAD explained that the pigments used in ancient Egyptian wall paintngs appear to be derived from a variety of minerals, not from earth colors which has always been assumed.

Pigments May Be Used to Restore Ancient Egyptian Paintings in King Tut's Tomb

The colors used in ancient Egyptian paintings will be recreated in the Italian National Research Council's lab in Padua. Infranca said that the reconstructed pigments will then be taken to Egypt where they will be applied to wall paintings in important Egyptian tombs such as Tutankhamen, Ramses and Nefertiti.

Brenda Harness, Art Historian