Analysis and Treatment of Mural Paintings Covered With Plaster Layers in Yakan House in Historic Cairo

Abstract

Yakan House is one of the historical houses in Cairo, dating back to the beginning of the nineteenth century. The house was neglected until its elements deteriorated until it was owned by a person interested in heritage who pledged to preserve it to become a cultural center to revive traditional crafts after architectural restoration. During the architectural restoration, blurred and unclear wall paintings dating back to the era of construction were discovered, and they were covered with a thick layer of mortar. Therefore, the research aims to study the discovered wall paintings and remove the plaster layer that covers them by modern mechanical, chemical and scientific detection methods. It was photographed using infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet rays, and was examined using light microscopy and examination and analysis electron microscopy (SEM-EDAX).It has been identified that the preparation layer consists of calcite (CaCO3), quartz (SiO2) and gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O), and that the dark blue color is composed of lapis lazuli, and that the purple color is a result of mixing blue and red together, and that the brown color is a mixture of red with the black. As for the dark yellow color, it consists of iron oxide (goethite). And through the analysis (FTIR) it was found that the adhesive used to bind the coloring material is gum arabic. Then the mural was treated, and this included removing the thick mortar layer with mechanical and chemical cleaning, replacing the damaged layers of preparation, and strengthening and fixing the discovered drawings.