12/04/2024
The Tomb of Queen Nefertari (QV66) was discovered in the Queen’s Valley by Ernesto Schiaparelli, Director of the Turin Museum, in 1904. Nefertari’s tomb is considered to be the most beautiful of all the queens tombs, both for its design and its brilliantly coloured painted decoration. Its recent restoration, completed in 1992 by the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation and the Getty Conservation Institute. The restoration began as a rescue operation when it was realised that the paintings were badly deteriorating due to the effects of dampness. Many attempts at conservation had previously been made, then in 1988 an international team of expert conservators undertook the rescue of the tomb, studying the problems and implementing geological, chemical and other scientific methods of stabilisation. The plaster was strengthened and the damaged areas were painstakingly repaired, and finally cleaned, so that the tomb looks like it was painted only yesterday. Nefertari’s tomb did not open to the public until 1995, after being kept under observation for three years to ensure that the work had been successful.
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