AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

Egyptian incense burner for burning incense in front of a divine shrine. Bronze. Twenty-fifth Dynasty. The third intermediate period. 700 BC

The first recorded use of incense was by the Egyptians during the Fifth Dynasty, 2345-2494 BC. The use of incense in religious ceremonies developed further.

The incense burner is in the shape of an arm. This type of incense burner appeared in the period of the Middle Kingdom. It was topped with a box for storing incense grains, and a dish for burning incense.

The arm-shaped incense burner in the Middle Kingdom was called n sntr and in one case the material used in its manufacture was identified as m HtmaS. This name also appeared in the Greek and Roman eras in the form of the letter n Hr. It was the popular name for the arm-shaped incense burner throughout the Middle and New Kingdoms, and in the Late Period in ancient Egypt.

The ancient Egyptians also used incense in many aspects of their daily lives, in medical prescriptions, personal care, perfuming homes, clothes, and magic, in order to protect them from evil spirits. They also considered incense one of the most important disinfectants in the rituals of the Egyptian religion. The use of incense was of great importance in the daily service of the temple gods, and it was used in almost every ritual conducted within Egyptian temples. In addition, it was used in religious ceremonies. Thanks to its importance, the Egyptian temples included factories for manufacturing perfumes that were burned inside the temples.

Egyptian texts indicate that the ancient Egyptians gave incense burners many names since the era of the Old Egyptian Kingdom. Then the names of the censers varied according to their shapes. KAp was the name of the cup-shaped incense burner with a lid. StAt was a rare name for cup-shaped incense burners as well.

The case of the incense burner was broken into several parts, and was covered with a lot of rust and many layers of mud.

A plan was drawn up to work on it and conduct some analyzes to determine the thickness of the rust. Some analyzes were also conducted to determine rust compounds. The restoration process began with mechanical cleaning using many different brushes and brushes. It was ensured that all layers of rust were removed and the insulation material was prepared.

The separate parts were also assembled using non-reactive or materials (bronze) and were prepared for display in one of the halls of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Keywords: Techniques, Bronze, Conservation, The Grand Egyptian Museum.