DETERIORATION AND CONSERVATION OF AN ASSYRIAN BRONZE KNEADING BOWL

Abstract

An Assyrian bronze kneading bowel is preserved in the storage area of the Jordanian Heritage Museum. Its diameter is 37 cm, and the height is 16 cm. The bronze bowl suffered from many corrosion forms, as different corrosion layers are visible on the surface. The bronze disease appears in different parts, damaging parts of the edges of the bronze bowl, and holes in the bowl’s body. Samples of corrosion layers were studied using Light Optical Microscope (LOM), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X- Ray diffraction (XRD), and (EDX).  Analyses indicated that atacamite and paratacamite minerals were the main components in the corrosion samples in addition to quartz and cuprite minerals. Treatment and conservation of the bronze bowl included mechanical and chemical cleaning.  Localized electrochemical reduction was used to remove the bronze disease as hydrogen ions reduced these compounds and convert them into water-soluble compounds. A mixture of beeswax, dammar, and colophony resin was used to fill the holes in the bowl body and to complete the edges. Finally, the bronze bowl was isolated using benzotriazole 3%.