EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE EFFICACY OF CLEANING SYSTEMS FOR THE REMOVAL OF PREVIOUS CONSERVATION TREATMENTS FROM TUTANKHAMUNS' GILDED WOODEN BED

The aim of this paper is to identify the best and most appropriate method to soften and remove three previous intervention materials (paraffin wax, rosin + paraffin wax, rosin + bees wax) and dirt layers applied on gilded wooden experimental samples, which were prepared on the basis of the information inferred from both chemical and physical analyses carried out on the gilded wooden bed of King Tutankhamun. Successful removal of previous intervention materials was determined by several scientific and analytical measures including ultraviolet induced luminescence (UVL), optical microscopy (OM), colorimetric measurements, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Results indicate that it is possible to soften and easily remove previous intervention materials and dirt layers from gilding surface by using carbopol surfactant gels, which were extremely effective for solubilizing and removal of previous intervention materials from the studied bed without causing harm on the original gilding and offering essential data for the follow-up treatment and conservation works of the other gilded objects of King Tutankhamun.