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Chapel of Maya

The funerary chapel of Maya was discovered in 1906 by Ernesto Schiaparelli’s archaeological mission in the necropolis of Deir el-Medina, a few meters from the tomb of Kha. Egyptian wall painting was applied a tempera. In Maya’s chapel, the mudbrick walls were covered with a plaster of fresh mud and straw, painted after drying. The colors, produced from minerals and vegetables (ocher for red and yellow, charcoal for black, limestone carbonate for white, malachite for blue and green), were mixed with water and gum Arabic as a blinder. The paintings of this chapel are axceptionally preserved, although not in their entirety. They were skilfully removed to be brought to Italy by the restorer Fabrizio Lucarini in 1906. Lucarini managed to detach the painted plaster from the walls and ceiling using a technique called “strappo”, which involves gluing canvas onto the painted surface to keep it together while the painting is removed. These canvases were then moistened with a solvent to take them off. This process, although it requires great skill, does not require cutting out the plaster and to preserve the painting to the utmost.

Suppl. 7910
Clay+plaster
145 cm x 185 cm x 225 cm
1353–1292 BCE
New Kingdom
Eighteenth Dynasty
Deir el-Medina / Cappella di Maia (TT 338)
Excavation Ernesto Schiaparelli, 1905
Museum / Floor 1 / Room 06 DEM / Showcase 11
  • Andreu, Guillemette (a cura di)-Andreu, Guillemette, Gli artisti del faraone: Deir el-Medina e le Valli dei Re e delle Regine, Milano 2003, pp. 287–8.
    Tipo=Opere biblioteca SottoTipo=Monografia o Opere Autore=Andreu, Guillemette (a cura di)-Andreu, Guillemette Titolo=Gli artisti del faraone: Deir el-Medina e le Valli dei Re e delle Regine Sottotiolo= In= Collana= Opera= Luogo=Milano Anno=2003 Menzionato=pp. 287-8 Illustrazione=
  • Museo Egizio di Torino-Donadoni Roveri, Anna Maria (a cura di)-Donadoni Roveri, Anna Maria, Civiltà degli Egizi : le arti della celebrazione, Torino 1988, pp. 214–221, figg. 58, 322-331 pp. 215-221.
    Tipo=Monografia SottoTipo=Monografia o Opere Autore=Museo Egizio di Torino-Donadoni Roveri, Anna Maria (a cura di)-Donadoni Roveri, Anna Maria Titolo=Civiltà degli Egizi : le arti della celebrazione Sottotiolo= In= Collana= Opera= Luogo=Torino Anno=1988 Menzionato=pp. 214-221 Illustrazione=figg. 58, 322-331 pp. 215-221
  • Tosi, Mario, La cappella di Maia (Museo Egizio di Torino : Quaderno 4), Torino 1970, pp. 17, 22–23, 28, 30–36, pp. 19-21, 23-27, 31-34.
    Tipo=Opere biblioteca SottoTipo=Monografia o Opere Autore=Tosi, Mario Titolo=La cappella di Maia Sottotiolo= In= Collana=Museo Egizio di Torino : Quaderno Opera=4 Luogo=Torino Anno=1970 Menzionato=pp. 17, 22-23, 28, 30-36 Illustrazione=pp. 19-21, 23-27, 31-34
Museo Egizio