Restauration d’un linceul égyptien d’époque romaine pour les nouvelles salles du musée du Louvre

L’ouverture des nouvelles salles consacrées à l’Orient romain au musée du Louvre a été l’occasion de restaurer un linceul daté du iie siècle ap. J.-C. conservé au département des Antiquités égyptiennes avec son masque-plastron. La présentation de cet ensemble qui combine, fait assez rare dans un musée, le plastron avec son linceul d’origine, a supposé de réfléchir à la façon dont ce dernier était agencé sur la momie originale afin de lui restituer sa position la plus exacte possible. Une enquête historique pour trouver des linceuls comparables a, par conséquent, été nécessaire avant de procéder à la restauration proprement dite. Cette dernière a impliqué un travail préparatoire et la création d’un prototype pour ajuster la forme du montage aux fragments du linceul anciennement restaurés.The opening of new rooms reserved for “The East Mediterranean in the Roman Empire” at the Louvre provided an opportunity to restore a shroud dating from the 2nd century AD, together with its mummy mask, on display in the Department of Egyptian Antiquities. The presentation of this ensemble in which the mummy mask is shown with its original shroud, quite a rare occurrence in museums, implied reflecting on the way in which the shroud was placed on the original mummy in order to reassemble it in an exact a position as possible. Consequently, historical research to find comparable shrouds was necessary before proceeding with the actual restoration. The latter involved preparatory work and the creation of a prototype in order to adjust the form of the assemblage to the fragments of the previously restored shroud

Strontium isotope evidence for Pre-Islamic cotton cultivation in Arabia

With a view to understanding the dynamics of ancient trade and agrobiodiversity, archaeobotanical remains provide a means of tracing the trajectories of certain agricultural commodities. A prime example is cotton in Arabia, a plant that is non-native but has been found in raw seed and processed textile form at Hegra and Dadan, in the region of al-ʿUlā, north-western Saudi Arabia—sites of critical importance given their role in the trans-Arabian trading routes during Antiquity. Here, we demonstrate that the measurement of strontium isotopes from pre-cleaned archaeological cotton is methodologically sound and is an informative addition to the study of ancient plant/textile provenance, in this case, putting forward evidence for local production of cotton in oasis agrosystems and possible external supply. The presence of locally-grown cotton at these sites from the late 1st c. BCE–mid 6th c. CE is significant as it demonstrates that cotton cultivation in Arabia was a Pre-Islamic socio-technical feat, while imported cotton highlights the dynamism of trade at that time

Quelques remarques à propos d’un ensemble de vêtements de cavaliers découverts dans des tombes égyptiennes

Bénazeth Dominique, Dal-Prà Patricia. Quelques remarques à propos d’un ensemble de vêtements de cavaliers découverts dans des tombes égyptiennes. In: L'armée romaine et les Barbares du IIIe au VIIe siècle. Actes du Colloque International organisé par le Musée des Antiquités Nationales et l'URA 880 du CNRS. Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 24-28 février 1990. Chelles : Association française d'archéologie mérovingienne, 1993. pp. 367-382. (Mémoires de l'Association française d'archéologie mérovingienne

La restauration de My Flower Bed, de Yayoi Kusama

Contemporary art works, and among them the installations which happen to be the origin of performances, present very specific problems to restorers. The following article relates the example of such a case, and the treatment which has been chosen. Another particularity in this case is the private sponsoring which enabled the Musée National d’Art Moderne to finance a heavy restoration of a masterpiece of the 60’s

Strontium isotope composition as a provenance indicator for Nabataean cotton textiles from Hegra

International audienc

Strontium isotope composition as a provenance indicator for Nabataean cotton textiles from Hegra

International audienc

Strontium isotope composition as a provenance indicator for Nabataean cotton textiles from Hegra

International audienc

Strontium isotope composition as a provenance indicator for Nabataean cotton textiles from Hegra

International audienc

Absolute chronology of cotton distribution in Arabia and Africa

International audienceIncreasing evidence of cotton (Gossypium herbaceum/arboreum), both seeds of cotton and textile fragments in cotton, sheds light on the distribution of this tropical plant in the Arabian Peninsula and Africa. Some of these discoveries come from archaeological contexts dated between the 4th and 2nd mill. BC. They have been interpreted as early importation of textile products from India, where cotton (G. arboreum) is attested since the 6th-5th mill. BC, or early presence of African cotton (G. herbaceum). None of the evidence which exist so far is based on direct dating. The bulk of cotton finds belong to later archaeological layers, from Antique, Late Antique and Islamic times. A set of radiocarbon dating was obtained for cotton seeds and fibres coming from various archaeological contexts. The results show that cotton is definitely present from the end of the 1st century BC onwards in Nubia and Egypt and during the 1st century AD in Central Sudan. In Arabia, one textile fragment dates back to the end of the 1st c. BC-1st c. AD but most of the data is comprised between the end of the 1st c. and the 3rd c. AD. The examination of direct radiocarbon dating combined to the analysis of the distribution of the cotton finds and the textual evidence allow us to better characterise the trade routes and the introduction of cotton cultivation in local agrosystems