The British Museum Technical Research Bulletin

This bulletin, part of an annual series which Archetype Publications publishes in association with the British Museum, offers a forum to show a dynamic behind-the-scenes glimpse of the current work of curators, conservators and scientists conducted on a range of artifacts and materials across the collections at the British Museum. Contents: Foreword – David Saunders; The study and conservation of four ancient Egyptian funerary portraits: provenance, conservation history and structural treatment – Nicola Newman, Lynne Harrison, David Thomas, Joanne Dyer and John Taylor; Maker, material and method: reinstating an indigenously made chair from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa – Catherine Elliott, Caroline Cartwright and Philip Kevin; A Bulgarian kukeri mask: a diplomatic gift and the conservation of its polyurethane foam decorations – Clare Ward, Nicole Rode, Marei Hacke and Judy Rudoe; A traditional Chinese method for weakening silk for use in the conservation of silk paintings – Vincent Daniels, Marei Hacke, Jin Xian Qiu and Valentina Marabini; Analytical study of the first royal Egyptian heart-scarab, attributed to a Seventeenth Dynasty king, Sobekemsaf– Gianluca Miniaci, Susan La Niece, Maria Filomena Guerra and Marei Hacke; Scientific analysis of a Buddha attributed to the Yongle period of the Ming dynasty – Quanyu Wang and Sascha Priewe; Examination and experimentation: conservation of an archaeological glass unguentarium for display – Julia Barton, Andrew Meek and Paul Roberts; Simple sophistication: Mauryan silver production in North West India – Paul Craddock, Caroline Cartwright, Kirsten Eckstein, Ian Freestone, Lalit Gurjar, Duncan Hook, Andrew Middleton and Lynn Willies; An unusual decorated skin coat from Canada: aspects of conservation and identification – Pippa Cruickshank, Caroline R. Cartwright, Jonathan C.H. King and Antony Simpson.