GEM-JC Project’s target artifacts include 8 pieces of wooden artifacts, 2 of which are lead target artifacts while the other 6 pieces are follow artifacts.
The lead artifacts will be the objects on which the GEM-CC and the Japanese conservators will work collaboratively together, and shall be conserved to be a model to follow when GEM-CC conservators work on the follow artifacts. The follow artifacts are the objects which GEM-CC conservators will work and conduct conservation processes, whereas the Japanese conservators will provide technical supports when needed.
2 of the 5 chariots, currently exhibited in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo, both are thought to be made especially for the ritual, and were made by utilizing bentwood technique to make the body and wheels, and the surface is decorated with gold leaf over white substrate.
Moreover, it’s constructed with composite materials such as stone and metal in the decoration of the cockpit. The other 3 chariots are thought to be made for hunting. So when they are compared to the ritual ones they seem more practical, and their design is simple. However, the body is manufactured with bentwood technique, and uses stone and metal in joining parts and decorations like the ritual chariots. On the other hand, as for the other wooden target artifacts, the 3 large ritual beds are manufactured by processing wood and constructing it together to form the body part. On top of it there are gold leaf decorations over a white substrate. Also, the bed’s bracing posts are decorated with Lion head, Hippo head, Bull head respectively, and decorated with stone, glass and ivory.
As for the condition of wooden artifacts, the chariot that is currently exhibited at Luxor Museum was recently conserved and is currently in a stable condition. However, the other 4 chariots, the beeswax applied to consolidate them when they were first excavated has become remarkably visible that it affects its aesthetic properties. The chariots and ritual beds are suffering from shrinkage due to drought which led to the distortion and breakage in some parts. Also the gold leaf decorating surface is peeling off and flaking, as well as chipping off of the stone and metal decoration parts. All of these deterioration are remarkably notable.