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Examination, conservation and analysis of a

gilded Egyptian bronze Osiris
Article in Journal of Cultural Heritage October 2002
Impact Factor: 1.57 DOI: 10.1016/S1296-2074(02)01238-4

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Journal of Cultural Heritage 3 (2002) 333345

www.elsevier.com/locate/culher

Examination, conservation and analysis of a gilded Egyptian bronze

Osiris
David A. Scott a,*, Lynn Swartz Dodd b
a

The Getty Conservation Institute, Museum Research Laboratory, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA, 90049 - 1684, USA
b
University of Southern California, Taper Hall of the Humanities, 328 MCO 355, Archaeological Research Collection,
Los Angeles, CA, 90089-0355, USA

Abstract
A heavily corroded Egyptian bronze figurine of the god Osiris was examined and shown to have been originally gilt with gold leaf and
inlaid with blue glass. Detailed formal comparison between this Osiris figure and the known corpus of bronze and stone sculpture leads to
the inference that the statuette dates to the time between the Third Intermediate Period and the fourth century BC, with a greater probability
of originating from the Third Intermediate Period through to the 26th Dynasty, or even possibly as late as the fourth century on the basis
of stylistic similarities. An extensive corrosion crust of atacamite and chalconatronite completely obscures inlaid glass decoration, found
during the investigation, together with remnants of a gilded surface. Analysis of the glass by electron microprobe showed a composition
consistent with early Egyptian blue glass with high sodium oxide and low potassium oxide content. The solid cast bronze is a leaded tin
bronze, and the gold is a gold foil applied to the bronze surface, originally alternating in decoration with the blue glass. The chalconatronite
and atacamite patina appear to be closely associated in the development of the unusual but extensive chalconatronite crust that now covers
part of the surface, as a natural corrosion process in this case, not derived from subsequent conservation treatment. The loss of the light blue
corrosion crust was prevented by consolidation with Paraloid B72, as examination over several months showed no sign of continued
chemical instability. 2002 ditions scientifiques et mdicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

1. Research aims

2. Description

The purpose of the present paper is to undertake a

detailed scientific investigation of the corrosive deterioration and morphological characteristics of an Egyptian
bronze Osiris in the Archaeological Research Collection of
the School of Religion, University of Southern California
(USC 5047). The bronze appears to be actively corroding
with the continual loss of small fragments of light blue
corrosion from the heavily mineralized surface. As the
bronze is of unknown provenience, it is also important to
evaluate the technical art historical background of the
Osiris, which is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, with some detail of
the remaining gilding and a closer view of part of the
corrosion crust in Figs. 3 and 4. The requirements for
conservation of the bronze are also assessed in the context
of this research.

The bronze Osiris now appears completely covered in a

thick, green corrosion crust with lighter blue patches. The
principally verdant colour of the once-gilded God is quite
appropriate for his symbolism as a god of regeneration in
the afterlife. The Papyrus of Ani from 1250 BC in the
British Museum [1] illustrates a green Osiris, enthroned,
sitting in judgement over the dead. However appropriate
this modern colour may be, this Osiris figure would not have
appeared green originally. This figurine was gilded and
details of the beard and royal insignia were highlighted with
inset blue glass, as reconstructed in Fig. 5. The eyebrows
may also have been inlaid. The Osiris figurine is, as usual,
depicted with his arms and legs bound to his body by
mummy bandages. Osiris is customarily shown mummiform, and when colour is indicated, he is seen wrapped in
white cloth as would have been the case when a body was
prepared for burial during mummification. The bronze
figure shown here holds the crook and the flail, symbols of
royalty, and also wears the white crown of Upper Egypt, the
southern portion of the country. Visual examination does not

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: dscott@getty.edu (D. Scott).
2002 ditions scientifiques et mdicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.
PII: S 1 2 9 6 - 2 0 7 4 ( 0 2 ) 0 1 2 3 8 - 4

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D. Scott, L. Dodd / Journal of Cultural Heritage 3 (2002) 333345

Fig. 1. Gilded bronze Osiris (USC 5047) from the collections of the
University of Southern California. Frontal view. Copyright Bruce Zuckerman, West Semitic Research Collection. Scale in cm. Height 255.1 mm.

reveal any difference in the corrosion on the sides of the

crown, where fittings for feathers might have been attached,
and so we assume that the crown was simply the White
Crown and that no atef feathers were affixed in antiquity.
Had the gilding of this ancient bronze Osiris figurine
remained intact, he would have been entirely gilded (with
blue inlay) as an example from the Bastis collection, shown
in Fig. 6 illustrates. The ancient Egyptians referred to the
flesh of their gods as gold, cf. The Destruction of
Mankind/Myth of the Heavenly Cow: Haw = f m nbw his
body (was) as/like gold... [2]. Gilding was used not only on
metal but also on wood as examples from the Brooklyn
Museum and the Pelizaeus-Museum, Hildesheim ([3], Fig.
68) illustrate. Gilding may have been used to create contrast
with the bronze material that might have had a duller glow
than the gold in its original cast state, or may have been
polished to a high sheen as was the case with mirrors, or
special alloys may have been subjected to a surface treatment, producing black bronze. Many objects are not
entirely gilt, instead the gold is used as a partial decoration,
leaving other parts of the surface free for glass inlay or
chasing [4].
Figure 4 shows that the gilding is especially well
preserved between the crossed arms and is present as

Fig. 2. Gilded bronze Osiris (USC 5047) from the collections of the
University of Southern California. Side view. Copyright Bruce Zuckerman,
West Semitic Research Collection. Scale in cm. Height 255.1 mm.

detached flakes within the voluminous corrosion crust. This

corrosion crust is primarily a thick, dark green, mineralized
layer incorporating rounded quartz grains on the exterior
surface, together with chalky-blue patches of corrosion that
protrude beyond the dark green patina.
During exploratory mechanical cleaning of a small region of the surface near the folded arms, we found the
remains of blue glass inlay that were buried beneath the
thick green corrosion crust. Following this discovery, careful examination showed that the blue glass is part of the
original decoration of the arms and also occurs in the beard.

D. Scott, L. Dodd / Journal of Cultural Heritage 3 (2002) 333345

Fig. 3. Gilded bronze Osiris (USC 5047) View of the back with extensive
alteration to chalconatronite at the base and at the shoulders. Scale in cm.

There are instances of white (travertine limestone) and

black (copper-rich metal) inlays ([5], plate 25; 206f) used
in the decoration of Osiriss crook and flail and rarely red or
green inlays ([3], fig 78) are found; the preserved glass on
the USC Osiris is uniformly blue. Glass still remains in the
beard and in the crook and flail. The eyebrows were incised
but the area is now so corroded and fragile that any

Fig. 4. Detailed view of the region between the crossed arms which retains
remnants of the gilded surface. Part of the corrosion crust can be seen
which comprises dark green atacamite and light blue chalconatronite, with
occasional cuprite pustules, which have formed over the atacamite and
chalconatronite surface. Magnification 110.

335

Fig. 5. Gilded bronze Osiris (USC 5047) reconstruction sketch of left side
profile and front. Drawing not to scale: left profile approximately same as
object.

investigative cleaning in search of further remnants of glass

inlays would damage the object so that it is difficult to say
with surety whether the eyebrows were once inlaid. It is
very likely that the now-vacant eyes were once inlaid and
they may also have been lined with blue glass or black inlay.
The dark green corrosion crust, overlying cuprite, is
cracked in many areas of the surface, revealing further green
layers, approximately 1.5 mm below, and with cuprite
below that. The fissures that have opened up in this dark
green layer suggest periodic hydration and dehydration of

Fig. 6. Osiris. Bronze fragment of head with inlaid eyes. Height 4.2 cm,
width 4.0 cm and depth 2.4 cm. Stylistically and technically dated to the
Third Intermediate Period.

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D. Scott, L. Dodd / Journal of Cultural Heritage 3 (2002) 333345

the corrosion crust with longitudinal cracking, a feature

which is not uncommon in bronzes which have suffered
from very severe corrosion during burial, commonly associated with chlorides in the soil. Overlying this crust, and
intercalated with it, is the chalky-light blue corrosion crust
that locally varies in colour from very pale to deep blue, also
incorporating quartz grains and other soil minerals.
In some regions, dark red-brown to black pustules erupt
from this green surface and occur as isolated excrescences
within that layer. There is a continual loss of small mineralized particles from the surface, but no sign of light blue,
powdery, bronze disease corrosion processes.
The current weight of the Osiris is 599.3 g; 255.1 mm in
length, 74.07 mm across the shoulders and 40 mm from the
back to the outer edge of the folded arms. Gilded and inlaid
bronze figurines were fashioned in a variety of sizes and
styles, from small to large. The size of the present figurine
has numerous archaeological parallels, including examples
discovered in what was possibly a mudbrick temple to
Osiris at Douch in the Kharga oasis of the Persian Period,
[6] and a kneeling statuette of a king holding a wedjat eye
found in Saqqara of the Late Period [4]. The size of a wood,
gilt and bronze figure of Amun, 48 cm high, has led some to
speculate that it may have been the focus of a small
sanctuary, as was the case in North Saqqara [7]. Indeed, it
has been suggested by Ogden [8] that these figurines may
come from temples rather than tombs. This hypothesis is
supported by the horde of bronze figurines found in the
Karnak lake when it was drained; by the cache of Osiride
figurines from North Saqqara and by the recent discovery of
numerous figurines at the Persian period temple in Douch
and probably dating from the mid 27th to early 29th
Dynasty.

3. Technical archaeological studies

The extensive corrosion of this bronze Osiris presents a
challenge to formal analysis. Even without corrosion, stylistic and iconographic analyses of small bronze figurines
are not without complications. Roeders [5,9] seminal
studies form a foundation for technical art studies. Considerable progress has been made in defining a stylistic canon,
especially for certain narrowly defined categories of sculpture. Recent technical and formal approaches, such as
Josephsons [10] monograph on royal fourth century portraiture and Griffens work [11] on gilding, manufacture,
and materials, offer analytic footholds.
Due to the massive corrosive deterioration, details of
particular features, and in some cases, the shape or modelling of the features, is in doubt. There are a few formal
parallels between the USC Osiris figure and those from the
early to mid 18th Dynasty, a period to which few bronze
figurines are conclusively dated, but there are more significant parallels found from the Third Intermediate Period
through to the fourth century BC. We suspect that this Osiris

dates to the Third Intermediate Period or slightly later in the

Late Period. It is possible to attribute the latter date for this
figurine, based on the technical examination of the evidence, including the propensity for Third Intermediate
Period and Late Period (especially 25th and 26th Dynasty)
archaism, incorporating the use of models from the New
Kingdom. Thus the probable date of this figurine is between
the late 11th and 4th centuries BC.
In seeking to specify the particular dynastic context in
which this Osiris was created, the problem of specificity
looms larger, even allowing for the obfuscation of the
features due to corrosion. The numerous bronze figurines
found in the sacred lake at Karnak, those from a temple of
Nectanebo II in North Saqqara and the more recent finds at
the Persian temple of Douch in the el-Kharga Oasis have
given researchers an indication of the range of facial and
formal types present in a single deposit. Both the stylistic
and material analyses of comparable figurines are complicated, in the case of stylistic analysis, by the variations in
postures dependent on the place of manufacture within
Egypt and, in the case of material analysis, by compositional variations at any given time according to the subject
portrayed or according to the technique of manufacture or
source of materials used.
The formal characteristics of this Osiris include several
features that help to situate it stylistically. The body is
modelled with some attention to the form beneath the
mummy bindings. For instance in the rear, the bulk of the
buttocks is visible and to a certain extent, the shape of the
legs can be discerned as well. The attention to the shape of
the body is restrained, and affords only a minimal outline of
the calves and thighs, shown as swellings on the outer sides
of the lower body. A similar body shape on a Late Period
Osiris (broken) was recently found in Karnak [12]. The feet
and lower legs of the USC Osiris are missing, as is the case
with many Osiris figurines, including a Late Period example
from the Frankfurt Am Main Museum [13].
The neck of the USC Osiris is compact. Figs. 2 and 3
show that the shoulders curve naturally forward to join the
base of the neck beneath the crown. This forms a contrast to
many Osiris figurines where a sharp hunchback appearance
can be created by the extension of the cloth worn by the god
out from the body. Examples of Osiride statues without this
ridge are known, including the preceding example, and
others [14]. The short, thick neck of the USC figurine joins
the back in a smooth line reminiscent of the Osiris figure in
Hannover ([5], abb. 201). This figure also wears the white
crown but with the addition of atef feathers. Fig. 7 shows an
example more distant in sculptural genre that is very close
to the posture of the USC Osiris, a statue of Amasis, of the
26th Dynasty.
The USC Osiriss eyes in their present damaged state are
somewhat difficult to reconstruct with certainty. It is reasonable to conjecture that they were originally inlaid and
may have resembled the large bronze head of a fourth
century king from the Pelizaeus-Museum ([3], Fig 878) or

D. Scott, L. Dodd / Journal of Cultural Heritage 3 (2002) 333345

Fig. 7. Statuette of Amasis. 26th Dynasty. Height: 22.5 cm. Provenience

unknown, now in Copenhagen National Museum Inv no 3603. Limestone.
(Pl. LXIV in Mysliwiec, Karol. Royal portraiture of the dynasties
XXIXXX. Mainz am Rhein: P. von Zabern, c1988.).

the charming face from the Bastis collection ([15], Fig. 9) or

the kneeling figure of Thutmosis IV ([16], 128). Unlike the
fourth century examples, the eyes of the USC Osiris have a
lower lid that is nearly horizontal and the shape of the eye
is articulated by the vertical lift of the curve that defines the
upper lid. These eyes are not almond-shaped as is common
during the reigns of Thuthmosis II and IV [17] and on
Ptolemaic and Ramesside representations as well. The eyes
of the USC Osiris also do not slant downward at the inner
canthus, another common feature of Ptolemaic faces. The
space between the eyes is fairly wide, equivalent to slightly
less than the width of one of the eyes. The eyebrows and the
eyeliner are both articulated as incised lines and these
parallel lines tilt downward toward the ear, rather than
extending straight out horizontally. The eyebrows do not
meet in the middle. Despite the corrosion, or perhaps
because of it, it is possible to see a suggestion of a flat
inverted triangular space between the eyebrows and this
could be construed as a stylistic similarity to fourth century
royal portrait sculpture [10], or as reminiscent of the
portraiture of Thutmosis IV where the area between the
brows is flat and the nose root is low in relation to the eyes.

337

Fig. 8. Shabako relief block reused in the Osireion of Taharqa, Karnak.

25th Dynasty. Height 32.5 cm. Sandstone. (Plate XXXI in Mysliwiec,
Karol. Royal portraiture of the dynasties XXIXXX. Mainz am Rhein: P.
von Zabern, c1988.).

In this case, the feature may be seen as an archaizing

tendency of a later period.
The nose on the USC Osiris begins at the level below the
eyeball and descends in a pronounced curve until the nose
rejoins the face, a feature of the distinctive noses crafted by
18th Dynasty artists sculpting for Amenhotep I and Thuthmosis III, as well as Hatshepsut. In these cases, the
pronounced nose profile is similar to the nose of the USC
Osiris but the 18th and 19th Dynasty noses all originate
between the eyebrows, whereas the USC Osiris nose starts
much lower. The USC Osiriss nose is fairly thin above its
root between the eyes but it widens once it springs outward
from the face near the bottom of the eye. The widening
continues through the nostril area, a feature common on
many Late Period figures, as well as in portraits of Thutmosis IV, to offer but one earlier example.
Even amid the corrosion, it is possible to see the curve of
the side of the nostril as it meets the cheek. This welldefined feature has parallels in some of the relief sculpture
of Shabako and Taharqa from Karnak, such as Fig. 8.
The mouth is approximately the width of the nostrils and
is curved slightly upward, almost in the manner of the
Ptolemaic smile, but to a lesser degree. The two lips are of
equal thickness and the outer corners of the mouth are

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D. Scott, L. Dodd / Journal of Cultural Heritage 3 (2002) 333345

Fig. 9. Polarized light photomicrograph for a sample of atacamite removed

from the front of the Osiris. Light green tablets with some more rounded
crystals present. Partially crossed polars; magnification 128.

indented. Full lips undercut at the corners are known from

the 30th Dynasty and also from the Tanite burials of
Dynasties 21 and 22. Josephson [10] emphasizes them for
fourth century royal sculpture in particular.
The shape of the face is notable. It is very slightly wider
than it is long. The overall effect is a compact, squarish
visage. This proportioning of the face is independent of the
plumpness of the cheeks, which may be found in a variety
of periods on faces with varying proportions. For example,
many Ptolemaic faces share the plump cheeks but are
generally longer than they are wide, and there is a 19th
Dynasty example in which the pudgy cheeks appear on a
face which shares the same proportions as the USC
Osirisface slightly wider than long. Other closely analogous examples to the USC Osiris include the face of a small
bronze Osiris in the collection of Frankfurt am Main,
possibly 25th Dynasty and the Copenhagen Amasis of the
26th Dynasty.
The beard, crook and flail were inlaid with blue glass.
Bothmer [15] suggests that the inlaid blue glass was only
common during the Third Intermediate Period after which
its use was rare. Josephson ([10], 20) indicates that the eyes

in royal portraits ceased to be inlaid before the Late Period

and they only began to appear again in the late Ptolemaic
period. The applicability of this assertion to non-royal,
small-scale bronze sculpture requires investigation elsewhere. The broad collar is modelled but does not seem to
have been further inlaid and so only was decorated with
gilding.
The royal insignia of the uraeus includes the still-extant
body of the cobra that winds upward behind the open hood
after winding horizontally to form a single opposing loop
behind the hood of the cobra. The hood is partly still
preserved but its head is gone. The bottom of the single loop
appears to be symmetrical, although strictly speaking, the
loop on the proper right is minutely higher than the loop on
the left. One loop extends horizontally to the right and the
other to the left side. The arrangement of such loops was
once held to be temporally diagnostic, but subsequently this
has been rendered problematic ([15], 767, 79; [18], 127;
[10], 5, 18, 21 n. 164, 279).
The ear is fleshy and, although its thickness may be
exaggerated by corrosion, the ear is situated at the level just
above the eyebrow (if a horizontal line was extended to the
face) and the ear ends at the level of a line that bisects the
area between the lips and nose. The ears are set back from
the fleshy face giving a sense of depth to the head, a feature
that has echoes in the sculpture of the 25th Dynasty. The
ears are set in an axis parallel to the line of the crown and
beard. The beard is attached to the chest.
In summary, formal comparison between the USC Osiris
and the known corpus of bronze and stone sculpture is a
major factor leading to our assumption that this Osiris dates
to the period between the Third Intermediate Period and the
fourth century BCE. We do not feel that it is definitely
possible to attribute a specific date to this bronze given its
state of conservation, but it seems more likely to date from
the Third Intermediate Period through 26th Dynasty, or even
possibly as late as the fourth century on the basis of stylistic
similarities, than to the latest Ptolemaic periods or to the
early New Kingdom, where certain parallels have been
noted.

4. X-ray fluorescence analysis

Non-destructive, in situ, X-ray fluorescence analysis was
carried out using the Omicron micro-X-ray fluorescence
system [19]. The alloy of the casting was shown to be a
bronze of the following composition: 0.4% iron, 0.03%
nickel, 86.7% copper, 7.3% tin, 4.5% lead and 0.1%
antimony, with arsenic, zinc, cobalt and silver not detected;
the total was determined to be 99.03%. Tin is present in a
majority of analysed copper alloy objects from the Ramesside period onwards, and arsenic is rarely found in coppertin alloys beyond the New Kingdom [8], corroborated by
an extensive series of analyses by Riederer [2024] and
Cowell [25], with the exception of Late Period cat heads,

D. Scott, L. Dodd / Journal of Cultural Heritage 3 (2002) 333345

339

Table 1
Electron microprobe data for the blue glass inlay from the Osiris: sample taken from the upper forearm just above the bent elbow. Analysis spots 14 show
the elemental oxide compositions in weight percentages
Oxide
Na2O
P2O5
NiO
PbO
MgO
Al2O3
SiO2
K2O
CaO
TiO2
MnO
FeO
CoO
ZnO
CuO
SnO
Sb2O3
SrO
BaO

Spot 1
16.512
0.412
0.121
0.004
4.416
2.898
62.25
1.304
9.044
0.103
0.263
0.455
0.267
0.47
0324
0.019
1.758
0.514
0.013

Spot 2
16.308
0.525
0.081
0
4.318
2.912
60.642
1.32
9.141
0.091
0.268
0.468
0.26
0.474
0.203
0.02
2.407
0.51
0.013

Spot 3
16.54
0.457
0.176
0.069
4.376
2.971
62.3
1.341
8.834
0.074
0.239
0.455
0.293
0.494
0.267
0
1.353
0.546
0.14

Spot 4
16.177
0.388
0.176
0.002
4.211
2.942
60808
1.288
9.197
0.097
0.257
0.4
0.296
0.391
0.262
0.057
2954
0.601
0.012

Total

101.15

99.96

100.8

100.52

which, in several instances, have been found to have higher

arsenic levels.
This composition, showing the use of a leaded tin alloy,
would be quite typical for later Iron Age Egyptian figurines,
e.g. a 25th Dynasty bronze statuette (BM 63595), showed
0.19% iron, 0.04% nickel, 86.4% copper, 7.10% tin, 4.20%
lead, 0.07% antimony, 0.1% arsenic and 0.01% zinc [26].
With a few exceptions, lead levels above 2% are rarely
encountered prior to the late New Kingdom when during the
19th Dynasty, high lead levels in copper alloys first become
common [8,27]. Exclusion of a later date using this criterion
is not possible, however, because examples dating to the
20th Dynasty contain only 5% lead [26] and in the Third
Intermediate Period, many items still have lead levels under
5% [8].
XRF analysis of the gilding, probably applied in the form
of a gold leaf 0.023 mm (23 m) thick, showed a composition of 81.3% gold, 15% copper, with about 3.7% silver,
although it is uncertain if the copper content is actually part
of the gilding metal, or just derived from the underlying
bronze. Investigation of a tiny flake of gilding, removed
from the surface did not provide a clear answer to this
question, since analysis gave a composition of 84.4% gold,
12.4% copper and 3.15% silver, which suggests that some
diffusion of copper into the gold leaf may have occurred,
since it is very difficult to prepare gold foil containing this
much copper. Gold purities ranging between 70% and 85%
characterize products of the Middle and New Kingdom,
while Late Period examples more often have high gold
purities of 85% and above, which may indicate refining,
although rare high purity examples are known earlier, as are
later low purity examples [20].
XRF, in vacuum, of the associated glass fragments
revealed that the detectable components are principally Si,
K, Ca, Co, Ni, Cu, Fe, Zn, and Sb. However, it is not

dect. limit
0.0351
0.0528
0.066
0.1068
0.0235
0.018
0.0264
0.0174
0.0196
0.0203
0.0371
0.0524
0.066
0.106
0.0966
0.059
0.068
0.2747
0.0099

k-ratio
0.0657
0.0012
0.0008
0
0.016
0.0106
0.2287
0.0093
0.0574
0.0005
0.0016
0.0029
0.0017
0.0029
0.002
0.0001
0.0104
0.0025
0.0001

correction
1.8647
1.479
1.2128
1.555
1.6622
1.452
1.2725
1.1592
1.1261
1.2274
1.2424
1.2217
1.2507
1.2902
1.2824
1.407
1.4134
1.7505
1.4884

possible to quantify glass analysis by this method reliably,

especially since sodium and magnesium are not detectable,
even in vacuum. Consequently, a small sample,
2 mm 1 mm in section, was mounted, polished and coated
for electron microprobe analysis. Examination of the glass
section reveals that the condition of the glass is excellent
and very little, if any, weathering has taken place. Possibly
these fragments, which must have acted cathodically in the
context of corrosion, were rapidly covered over with bronze
corrosion products during burial and became embedded in a
thick, hard copper corrosion crust which had protected them
from decay.

5. Electron microprobe analysis

The electron microprobe analysis of the glass sample was
undertaken on a Cameca SX100 electron microprobe employing a 20 m spot size at 9.00 nA, 15 kV for 100 s
acquisition time. Nineteen elements were sought during the
analysis and the results, expressed as element oxides, are
given in Table 1.
The glass is essentially a soda-lime glass. Sayre and
Smith [28] found that Egyptian glass of the second millennium BC and early first millennium BC shows a sodium
oxide content from 15% to a little over 20%, a calcium
oxide content of 510%, a silica content of about 6070%
together with small concentrations of minor component
oxides. Magnesia (25%) and potash (13%) were found to
be consistently high, and that is exactly the range of these
two constituents found here, with 4.3% MgO and 1.3%
K2O. Interestingly, the high level of zinc oxide in this Osiris
blue glass was also noted as an anomaly in New Kingdom
cobalt blue glasses by Sayre and Smith, and must originate

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D. Scott, L. Dodd / Journal of Cultural Heritage 3 (2002) 333345

from unusual copper or cobalt ore sources, since otherwise,

such a high zinc content is inexplicable.
The cobalt, nickel, zinc, and copper concentrations in our
Osiris glass are also comparable, except that the New
Kingdom glass samples contained only 0.10.01% copper,
whilst the Osiris glass contains 0.25% copper, showing that
this blue glass is coloured by both cobalt and copper. An
Egyptian cobalt source has been suggested by Kaczmarczyk
and Hedges [29]. The alum deposits of the Kharga and
Dahkla oases also contain manganese, iron, nickel, and zinc.
On the basis of trace mineral analysis, Kaczmarczyk and
Hedges ([29], 3734) suggest that the Egyptian cobalt
source was only in use from the 16th to the 11th centuries
BC, while an Iranian source was in use in later times [9].
The opacifying agent in the Osiris glass is antimony,
present at relatively high amounts of about 2%, again
characteristic of Egyptian glass from the second-first millennium BC. Antimony is known from faience manufacture
during the reign of Thutmosis III, while in glass it is so far
documented as early as the mid 14th century, during the
Amarna period, and also later [20,30].
In the later part of the First Millennium BC, the composition of Egyptian glass changed and a Roman composition started to assert itself, with low magnesia and low
potassia [30,31]. The earliest glasses of this type found by
Sayre and Smith were from glass inlays from funeral objects
associated with the late Pharaoh, Nectanebo II (360341
BC). The magnesium oxide content of the Osiris glass is
typical for the high magnesia glass (HMG) group, which
uses plant alkali, differentiated from glass of the Roman
period, where both magnesia and potash are present at levels
usually below 1%, consistent with the use of natron [32].
The ratio of potassium oxide to magnesium oxide found
here is very similar to examples of Egyptian glass from Tell
el Amarna published by Nicholson and Henderson [33]. The
evidence from the glass analysis therefore suggests a date
for the Osiris of earlier than 500BC.

6. X-ray radiography
A Phillips 450 kV X-ray tube was used in order to assess
whether the bronze is actually a solid cast or a hollow
lost-wax bronze casting. The bronze could barely be penetrated using X-radiography at 420 kV, 10 mA for 180 s,
confirming the impression that the statuette is a solid bronze
casting.

ite, one of the copper trihydroxychlorides Cu2(OH)3Cl. A

chart of the X-ray diffractogram for the latter is shown in
Fig. 9. The in situ identification was followed by DebyeScherrer powder diffraction analysis, the data for chalconatronite being given in Table 2.
Examination of the dark brown pustules that occur over
the surface was also carried out by DebyeScherrer powder
diffraction, which showed the same atacamite diffraction
data as the principal corrosion crust. This result indicates
that the pustules are principally composed of atacamite, but
the result did not account for the dark brown colour of the
surface. Consequently, the sample used for X-ray diffraction
was crushed, mounted, and examined under the polarized
light microscope. In some places, the atacamite crystals
could be seen to be tipped with cuprite which had formed on
the immediate surface of these pustules, but which represents a very thin surface phenomenon.

8. Polarized light microscopy

The atacamite particles appear as equant crystalline
fragments, tending towards boulder-shaped, rounded particles which appear pale green in bright-field illumination
and have a refractive index greater than that of the mounting
medium of 1.662 (reference data: = 1.831; b = 1.861;
v = 1.880). A photomicrograph is shown in Fig. 10. McCrone et al. [34] state that the orthorhombic mineral is
slightly pleochroic, but this was not evident in the samples
examined here. Under crossed polars, the particles are
predominantly yellow with tinges of red; some remaining a
pale grey-white. Occasional particles are seen with finely
radiating fibrous characteristics, from the mode of growth of
the corrosion product.
Examination of a microsample of one of the very dark
pustules on the surface showed that this too was indeed
composed of atacamite; some of these crystals could be seen
to be covered with a very thin layer of cuprite, too small to
have been able to be detected by the X-ray diffraction study.
This explains the very dark, almost black, appearance of
these excrescences: the red-brown of the cuprite over the
dark green of the atacamite producing a black appearance.

7. X-ray diffraction

Under plane polarized light, the chalconatronite particles

appear almost colourless and have no obvious blue or green
tone at all. Some of the particles show radiate, fibrous or
finely disseminated appearance in melt-mount of RI 1.662,
while some crystalline fragments can be seen to have a
refractive index less than that of the medium (reference
data: = 1.483; b = 1.530; c = 1.576).

X-ray diffraction, in situ, using a Gobels mirror and a

Siemens D5005 X-ray diffractometer, showed that the light
blue patches of corrosion are chalconatronite, sodium copper (II) carbonate trihydrate, Na2Cu(CO3)23H2O; the dark
green corrosion crust that covers the entire figure is atacam-

Under crossed polars, some of these crystalline tablets

show a second-order blue colour parallel to the long
direction of the wave-plate, indicative of a negative sign of
elongation. Extinction in clear particles tends to be parallel
to the long axis of the crystal, whilst more fibrous-looking
particles show undulose extinction, similar to some syn-

D. Scott, L. Dodd / Journal of Cultural Heritage 3 (2002) 333345

341

Fig. 10. X-ray diffraction data, measured in situ, for the dark green corrosion showing atacamite to be present.

thetic preparations of the mineral made in the laboratory

[35,36].
Photomicrographs can be seen in Figs. 11 and 12. A
reference sample of chalconatronite from the collections of
the British Museum (mineral identification: BM1973:460),
appears as angular, colourless, crystalline fragments in clear
relief since all three refractive indices of chalconatronite are
well below that of the medium. Under crossed polars, these
crystals show a grey-white birefringence with some particles revealing a second-order straw yellow and a redpurple tinge: most particles possess clear extinction.
Evidence for some calcite particles, mixed with chalconatronite, was found in some preparations, as clear, crystalline fragments, showing typical birefringence under crossed
polars, and with one refractive index very close to that of the
mounting medium at 1.66.

9. Conservation
The principal conservation issue is the continued loss of
small fragments of atacamite and chalconatronite from the
thick, heavily mineralized crust. It was decided to consolidate this layer with an application of 3% Paraloid B72 in
acetone (known as Acryloid B72 in the United States; a
co-polymer of ethylmethacrylate and methylacrylate), applied by brush, observing the surface under binocular

magnification of 40 to assess the degree of saturation of

the surface or alteration of surface gloss. Following conservation treatment, the visual appearance of the surface did
not undergo significant change.
Observation of the bronze over a period of 12 months
following treatment suggested that this consolidation has
helped to retain the mineralized surface as the loss of parts
of this surface has now abated.

10. Discussion
Thomas [37] found that for appreciable quantities of
atacamite to be found on an object, it is necessary for the
equilibrium concentrations of copper and chloride ions at
the metal surface to be higher than those found in most
groundwater. Typically, a chloride ion activity greater than
102 g-ion per litre, 3550 ppm, is necessary for atacamite to
form. The dry, natron-rich environs of Egypt provide ideal
opportunities for this kind of chloride-rich patina to develop. One possible sequence being:
+

Cu + Cl = CuCl

(1)
+

4CuCl + O2 + 4H2 O = 2Cu2 OH 3 Cl + 2H + 2Cl (2)

342

D. Scott, L. Dodd / Journal of Cultural Heritage 3 (2002) 333345

Table 2
Debye-Scherrer X-ray powder diffraction data for the light blue corrosion,
identified as chalconatronite
Osiris light blue corrosion
I/I*
d
20
9.198
40
7.879
100
7.101
100
6.951
100
6.870
20
6.055
50
5.505
50
5.167
20
4.584
90
4.181
80
3.681
40
3.450
5
3.220
5
3.139
20
3.032
20
3.014
20
2.994
70
2.883
40
2.783
10
2.694
20
2.625
30
2.531
40
2.438
50
2.274
5
2.217
50
2.153
40
2.084
40
2.076
20
2.068
30
2.020
30
2.006
20
1.994
10
1.917
10
1.859
5
1.824
10
1.777
30
1.723
5
1.679
10
1.619
5
1.564
5
1.498
10
1.432
5
1.412
5
1.390
5
1.373
3
1.268
3
1.235
3
1.208
3
1.188
3
1.160

Na2Cu(CO3)2H2O ICDD 221458

d
I/I*

7.820
50

6.900
100
5.590
40

5.180
70
4.570
40
4.180
80
3.680
90
3.450
40
3.290
10
3.120
40
3.040
10
3.000
50
2.980
40
2.890
60
2.780
30
2.690
30
2.630
20
2.530
60
2.430
60
2.280
30
2.210
40
2.150
20
2.082
60

2.061
60
2.015
30
2.010
60
1.991
60
1.917
50
1.860
40
1.821
30

1.710
10
1.981
2

1.552
1

1.425
3
1.418
3
1.387
2
1.370
2

Fig. 11. Polarized light photomicrograph for a sample of chalconatronite

removed from the back of the Osiris. The light blue corrosion is almost
colourless under the microscope so a partially crossed polar view is
illustrated here. The crystals have a grey-white birefringence with some
crystals showing a second-order straw yellow and a red-purple tinge.
Partially crossed polars; magnification 128.

atacamite precipitates under more alkaline conditions.

Nota bene: the last 7 entries for 22-1458 are from the authors
reference data and do not appear in the ICDD files.

Pourbaix [38] illustrates diagrams for the copperchlorinewater system at this concentration of chloride ions
which show that the field of stability for the copper
trihydroxychlorides occurs in more oxidizing and acidic
environments from about pH 6.0. Woods and Garrels [39]
found that under more acidic conditions, paratacamite,
rather than atacamite, is the favoured product, and that

Fig. 12. The same specimen as Fig. 12 under crossed polars; magnification 128.

D. Scott, L. Dodd / Journal of Cultural Heritage 3 (2002) 333345

These alkaline conditions may also be produced by these

Egyptian natron deposits. For example, with a natron
deposit rich in sodium carbonate, the reaction between
cupric chloride, sodium carbonate and water may produce
atacamite, along with an array of other products, as the
following rather complex equation suggests:
16Na2 CO3 + 18CuCl2 + 27H2 O = 9Cu2 OH 3 Cl +

27Cl + 5HCO3 + 11H2 CO3 + 32Na (3)

Sharkey and Lewin [40] found that the concentrations of
CuCl2 and NaCl were critical in determining which isomer
of the copper trihydroxychloride system might be expected
to form. With copper and NaCl alone, paratacamite formed,
the addition of NaCl to CuCl2 between 0.1 and 1 M Cl
favoured atacamite, with higher concentrations again producing paratacamite.
Another interesting aspect of this study is the extensive
formation of chalconatronite that has taken place over the
atacamite corrosion crust, where large patches of the surface
are of chalconatronite, as can be seen from Figs. 2 and 3.
The bronze has undergone no prior conservation work, and
the chalconatronite retains quartz and calcite mineral grains
from the burial environment, as does the atacamite layer.
Chalconatronite was first identified by Frondel and
Gettens [41] in 1955 as a bluish-green chalky crust within
the hollow interior of an Egyptian bronze figurine of the
deity Sekmet from the Saite-Ptolomaic period (663630
BC) in the Fogg Museum of Art. The mineral was also
identified on an Egyptian bronze group of a cat and kittens
in the Gulbenkian Collection in Lisbon; on a Coptic censer,
dating from about the seventh century AD, in the Freer
Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; on a copper pin from the
basilica of St. Marks in Venice [42], and as isolated crystals
on Roman copper and iron armour from an excavated site at
Chester, England, where conservation treatment had been
carried out many years earlier [43]. Interestingly, Frondel
and Gettens [41] also found that atacamite and cuprite were
associated with the chalconatronite, very similar to the
associations seen here.
One of the synthetic methods for the preparation of
sodium copper (II) carbonate trihydrate is the precipitation
of the crystals from a concentrated solution of sodium
carbonate containing bicarbonate and copper ions, and this
was the route utilized by the first laboratory synthesis of the
compound by Deville [44] in 1852. The nature of the
possible atacamite to chalconatronite transition, was also
highlighted by an experiment carried out by Thomas [37] in
which a 4.7 mmol solution of cupric chloride dihydrate was
added to 100 ml of a stirred solution of 50 mmol of sodium
carbonate at 25 C. When this solution was allowed to
evaporate to dryness, the resulting mixture is of soluble
sodium salts and chalconatronite; viz.
CuCl2 + 2Na2 CO3 = Na2 Cu CO3 2 + 2NaCl

(4)

343

Further reaction may then take place between available

cupric ions and sodium chloride:
++

Cu

+ NaCl = CuCl2 + 2Na

(5)

The reaction provides the possibility of a cyclical chain

of events, since the sodium chloride formed in reaction (4)
may then be consumed in reaction (5) to produce more
CuCl2.
The atacamite appears to occur on the surface in two
modifications, firstly as thick sheets of corrosion, and
secondly, as eruptions of atacamite in the form of small
pustules over this surface, which are covered with a thin
layer of cuprite, which accounts for their brown/black
appearance, as the thin skin of red cuprite is underlain by the
dark green of the atacamite. The association of atacamite,
chalconatronite and cuprite may be significant in the environmental parameters required for chalconatronite formation.

11. Conclusions
The study of this bronze Osiris, from the different
viewpoints discussed in this paper, has provided new
insights concerning patina and corrosion of Egyptian
bronzes from very chloride-rich environments. Firstly, it is
not obvious, from previously published work, that it is
possible for an overall patina of atacamite to exit as a
coherent crust. The assumption has been that such occurrences of the copper trihydroxychlorides are limited to
excrescences over the patina but do not form a continuous
covering. The publication of this heavily corroded Osiris
shows that these assumptions are incorrect. Secondly, the
aetiology of the chalconatronite was found to be unrelated
to prior conservation treatment, and represented an association between atacamite, chalconatronite and cuprite, which
may be one of the requirements for its natural formation in
highly saline environments. Despite the heavy corrosion of
the bronze, an extensive amount of technical art historical
interpretation was possible. Formal comparison between the
USC Osiris and the known corpus of bronze and stone
sculpture enabled us to infer that this Osiris dates to the
period between the Third Intermediate Period and the fourth
century BC.
The determination that the chalconatronite was spalling
away from the surface of the bronze due to thermomechanical rather than chemical instability, led to the decision to
apply a surface consolidant to the corroded surface, in an
attempt to provide greater cohesion of this layer. The
treatment appears to have been successful, as observation of
the bronze over a period of 12 months reveals no further
loss of the mineralized surface.

D. Scott, L. Dodd / Journal of Cultural Heritage 3 (2002) 333345

344

Authors biography
David A. Scott, BSc., BA, Ph.D., FIIC, FRSC, is the
Senior Scientist in charge of the GCI Museum Research
Laboratory. He was a lecturer in conservation at University
College, Institute of Archaeology, Department of Conservation and Materials Science, from 1981 to 1987. In 1987, he
joined the GCI as Head of the Museum Services Laboratory.
He was appointed as an editor for Studies in Conservation in
1984. His principal interests are the analysis of Museum
objects, the characterization of pigments, ancient metals and
their microstructure, and the archaeometallurgy of preHispanic Colombia and Ecuador.
Lynn Swartz Dodd,BA in Art History from Smith College, Northampton, MA, 1984, MA in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, UCLA, 1997, Ph.D 2002, research on
cultural identity and the recreation of statehood in the early
Iron Age-Late Bronze Age transition of North Syria. Since
1998 she has been at USC where she is visiting assistant
professor and curator of the use Archaeological Research
Collection.

[5]

[6]

[7]
[8]

[9]
[10]
[11]

[12]

Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to Prof. Bruce Zuckerman, School of
Religion, University of Southern California, for bringing the
issue of conservation to the attention of the authors, to Eric
Doehne, Associate Scientist, Getty Conservation Institute,
for carrying out the electron microprobe analyses, to
Narayan Khandekar, Associate Scientist, GCI Museum
Research Laboratory and to Megan Dennis, GCI postgraduate research intern for 20002001, for taking some of the
photographs of the Osiris figure.

[13]

[14]
[15]

[16]

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