ALS from Alexander to Carter regarding the pigmentation in the tombs

ORIGINAL ALS CONCERNING HOWARD CARTER’S WORK IN THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS

Single sheet (17.5 x 22.5cm) with printed header of 34, Hamilton Terrace N.W.8. and the telephone number 4154 Maida Vale to the upper margin; followed by 17 lines of manuscript text to recto, and a further 24 lines to the verso; a couple of tiny spots, else fine, retaining the horizontal and vertical folds likely made at time of writing. 

“Very many thanks for your kind letter of Feb. 12th and the 3 lots of gilt [?] gesso from the 1st shrine which arrived safely on Wednesday last”, Scott writes. “I have so far only examined one of the lots and it behaves exactly like what I brought back with me seven years ago. I think I mentioned in my previous letter that the gesso seems to contain carbonate but no sulphate or lime. I am sure we will easily get from it sufficient pieces of skin to determine from what animal they have come. I had a talk yesterday with Sidney Smith (who has succeeded H. R. Hall as keeper of the Egyptian Department) and he said that he thought I could find similar gesso work in some of the Islamic objects…he agreed that he knew of no instance being noted at any period of Egyptian work.” Scott goes on to refer to other paints examined at the site, noting that the black “dissolves almost completely in alcohol” and “I am glad you have got some more red gold for me” and ends by referring back to Carter’s ongoing work in Luxor: “I daresay you are glad that you are getting to the end of the work at the tomb”, he concludes. 

Born on the 28 December 1853, Alexander Scott studied science at the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge before undertaking a career in Chemical research at the Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory and the Chemical Society, the latter of which he was President of from 1915–1917. In 1919 he conducted an inquiry into the condition of objects in the British Museum collection alleged to have suffered deterioration from storage in the London Underground during WWI, and in 1920 he was appointed the first director of the research laboratory at the British Museum. Harold J. Plenderleith (mentioned here) joined him there as assistant in 1924, and during the 1920s and 1930s Scott and Plenderleith together laid the foundations of scientific conservation in the United Kingdom. In 1923, Scott visited Luxor under the invitation of Howard Carter, and there he worked as a consulting chemist on the preservation of objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun. Responsible in part for the conservation of the pall covering the second shrine, he also investigated the red-patinated gold he saw there. 

Dated March 3rd 1931, this letter contains important historical context concerning Carter and some of his final excavations of the tombs found in Luxor. Carter’s search had begun as early as 1902, and by 1931 he had uncovered six royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the most notable of which was of course the virtually intact tomb of Tutankhamun which yielded the discovery of over 5,000 treasured artifacts.  

Gesso is a mixture of plaster (usually gypsum or chalk) and glue that was used as a base layer for gilding. Scott's examination of the gesso revealed the presence of animal tissue and hair follicles within the mixture, which helped archaeologists understand the binding agents used by ancient Egyptian craftsmen. 

A fascinating letter concerning one of the most important archaeologists, and certainly Egyptologists, of the 20th century.   

SKU: 1800200