AIM Pilgrim Trust – The Egypt Centre

Items from The Egypt Centre before and after conservation

The Egypt Centre, Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, University of Swansea – Remedial conservation grant
AIM grant: £4,750
Provisions for the dead in Ancient Egypt

The Egypt Centre is a small museum of Egyptian antiquities, which is located at Swansea University.

In 2019 it was determined that several objects in the Provisions for the Dead case were in urgent need of conservation in order to ensure their preservation and to better display them to the public. The case is one of the museum’s most popular exhibits, with the “food and provisions” activity featuring heavily in its educational programme. Additionally, objects from other cases or storage were chosen to supplement the project, such as the large Amarna pot.

Twenty-seven objects from the museum collection were stabilised and or analysed as part of this project. In many instances, the objects had previously missing sections reintegrated. This work has increased the robustness of these exceptional objects for the enjoyment and education of both present and future generations.

As a small museum, the AIM Pilgrim Trust conservation grant has had a major impact on the preservation of a selection of objects in the collection. Several of our most popular objects, such as the two wooden stelae, wooden tomb figures, and two painted plaster reliefs have been beautifully cleaned and consolidated. In the case of the wooden tomb figures, many have had limbs reattached, thus making them more visually appealing. Additionally, the large Amarna pot, which had suffered from significant surface flaking, has now been stabilised and can be displayed to visitors for the first time in over twenty years.

We are extremely grateful to the AIM and the Pilgrim Trust for awarding us the conservation grant. The Provisions for the Dead display is one of our most popular exhibits, with our “food and provisions” and “survival in the afterlife” activities featuring heavily in our educational programme. Our volunteers are already looking forward to seeing the fantastic results of this work once the museum reopens again.

This work was a collaborative project involving Dr Ken Griffin (Collections Access Manager at the Egypt Centre), Mr Phil Parkes (Reader in Conservation at Cardiff University), and Dr Ashley Lingle (Lecturer in Conservation at Cardiff University).

Dr Kenneth Griffin, Collections Access Manager, The Egypt Centre