The findings suggest that the artists of ancient Egypt cared deeply about every step of their work.
Ancient Egypt is a gold mine of humanity’s best artwork from antiquity. Remarkably, many artifacts from this era retain their vibrant colors to this day—and scientists now understand how this was possible.
An international team of conservators, historians, and archaeologists conducted a detailed analysis of paint binders and adhesives in painted artifacts from between 1425 BCE and 40 CE. In a Science Advances paper published today, the researchers report not just the importance of glue in the preservation of Egyptian art, but also a previously unknown dependence on plant ingredients. For the study, the team analyzed 28 paint and adhesive samples taken from 14 different pieces of artwork held by the Egyptian collections in major museums. The discovery sheds new light on how, for Egyptian artists, their choice of materials held religious and symbolic value.
