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1 5 3 I H I G H L I G H T S 2 0 2 3
PRINCIPAL PUBLICATION AND AUTHORS
Illustrating papyrus in Ancient Egypt, P.-O. Autran (a,b), C. Dejoie (a), C. Dugand (c), M. Gervason (c), P. Bordet (b), J.-L. Hodeau (b), M. Anne (b), P. Martinetto (b), Sci. Rep. 13(1), 524 (2023); https:/doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-27761-7 (a) ESRF (b) Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Institut Néel, Grenoble (France) (c) Musée Champollion, Vif (France)
REFERENCES
[1] P.-O. Autran et al., Anal. Chem. 93(2), 1135-1142 (2021).
period and extensively applied to mural paintings, was clearly used in papyrus illustration as well.
It was also revealed that the main pigments used in the Champollion papyruses came from standardised sources and were part of the ancient Egyptian palette, including blue cuprorivaite, yellow orpiment and red hematite and cinnabar. The presence of cinnabar (and of lead white to colour the arms of the deceased) in the coloured illustrations of the two papyrus fragments suggests they date from the Ptolemaic period.
Beside the standardised procedure, it was also demonstrated that the use of pigments was freely adjusted depending on the element to be coloured, with different mixes and associations depending on the wishes of the artist. To this end, the red colour used in the illustrations was found in at least three different instances, with the proportions of red hematite, red cinnabar, and white gypsum or lead white varying depending on the region coloured, thus providing a whole palette of different reddish shades.
This study highlights the subtle balance between standardisation and creativity in the colouring process of the Champollion papyruses, with craftsmen using specific pigments and mixes to create various shades, and the artist s touch also apparent in the drawing of the final contour. These results improve our understanding and appreciation of the techniques used to produce the illustrated Book of the Dead in ancient Egypt.
Fig. 125: a) Phase profiles obtained from X-ray diffraction data recorded along the red line on the Godhead (PAP-6), ID22. The black arrows indicate the absence or presence of each phase, with no information on their relative amount. Hem: hematite; Syn: syngenite; Cin: cinnabar; Cup: cuprorivaite; Orp: orpiment; Qua: quartz. b) Mixed Rietveld and Pawley refinements against diffraction data collected on the Godhead (thin blue line: measured pattern; red line: calculated pattern; grey line: difference. Eleven phases are present. Inset: Cuprorivaite (c), orpiment (o), realgar (r), weddellite (we).
