#strikingpower

👋 Jacksonville! Striking Power: Iconoclasm in Ancient Egypt is now on view at Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, today through April 26. Inspired by one of the most common questions from our visitors regarding damaged objects in our Egyptian collection, the exhibition explores patterns of intentional damage on sculptures and reliefs as a result of shifting ideologies in ancient Egypt. 

If you have a friend in Jacksonville who you think will enjoy this show, share this with them and tell them to check it out!

How do you lift a stone sculpture that weighs 585 lbs? In preparation for the upcoming exhibition Striking Power: Iconoclasm in Ancient Egypt this fragmentary sculpture of Crown Prince Khaemwaset needed a new mount. The sculpture is broken at the base and is not flat on the bottom; it sits at the incorrect angle leaning backward without additional support. 

In order to create a mount for display that would prop up the stone at the original orientation, the sculpture needed to be lifted so that a supportive mount could be built beneath it. The sculpture was wrapped with padding and rigging straps were secured around the object. The straps were set at different heights to that the correct angle for the sculpture could be achieved.

Once the sculpture was raised in the air a separate epoxy wedge was built to support the base of the object at the appropriate slope. The object is more stable for storage and display on the new mount and the object can be easily removed in the future if needed.