Techniques of Decoration in the Hall of Barques in the Temple of Sethos I at Abydos

Abstract

In 1983 and 1988 the Egypt Exploration Society's Abydos Mission recorded the paintings and reliefs in the Hall of Barques of the temple of Sethos I at Abydos. The paintings of Sethos I were executed in 9 main stages, from initial design to the final painting of details. Many corrections can be identified, both small ones in paint in the drafts and larger changes where the surface was recovered in plaster. Before the figures were painted, the figure area was covered with a fine plaster wash, to which black outlines were applied while it was still damp. There was a chemical reaction between black paint and plaster and little black is preserved. The black pigment contains an iron-rich pigment which is poorly crystalline (Appendix 2). Sunk relief carving within the outlines of the paintings was partly carried out under Ramesses II. Different levels of skill and divisions of labour in carving can be identified; problematic hieroglyphs were left to a later hand. Both relief and painting are characterized by speed of execution. The painting in the south-east corner of the hall was cleaned and recopied in 1988; the techniques used are described in Appendix 1.