GoKawiilCredit: Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm Credit: Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm
The precise composition of ancient Egyptian paints, binders, adhesives, and similar materials used to make artifacts is largely unknown, in part because a full analysis would require taking samples that would damage those valuable artifacts. The development of cutting-edge, non-destructive techniques has been helping to unlock those secrets, aiding conservation efforts.
Most recently, researchers have used mass spectrometry-based proteomics to analyze the glues and adhesives in a broad set of Egyptian artifacts, according to a new paper published in the journal Science Advances. They found plenty of expected sources, such as animal collagens and egg proteins, but also plant proteins, specifically from sesame and drumstick tree (moringa) cereals.
As previously reported, the ancient Egyptians had a highly formalized (and easily recognizable) painting style, and there has been considerable interest in gaining insights into the specific pigments and painting techniques employed. Common pigments included hematite and realgar for red; goethite and orpiment for yellow; Egyptian blue; Egyptian green; carbon-based black; and calcite, gypsum, anhydrite, and huntite for white. (Just last year, Washington State University researchers were able to re-create Egyptian blue by mixing together silicon dioxide, copper, calcium, and sodium carbonate in varying proportions and heating them at very high temperatures akin to those of ancient kilns.)
Many pigments available to ancient Egyptian artists have elemental markers detectable by X-ray fluorescence imaging. Macro-XRF imaging in particular has previously been used (in combination with hyperspectral imaging) to study a Greco-Roman painted funerary portrait from the second century CE, as well as to determine the remnants of color on marble at Delphi in Greece. In 2023, scientists used a portable MA-XRF imaging device to study ancient Egyptian paintings, part of a broader project investigating tomb chapels in the Theban Necropolis.