Thursday, September 20, 2012

EES webinar

EES webinar AUTUMN 2012
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Cultural Property and the antiquities trade in Egyptology
Saturday 29 September 2012, 1 - 4pm (including a break)

This is an online event; join the EES at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ees-events

This ‘webinar’ will be broadcast live on the web, via USTREAM, in order to allow virtual participation and discussion online (via USTREAM, Twitter, Facebook or email) and thereby engage with the widest possible audience.

The seminar will examine how academics, museums, and the legal antiquities trade interact, and can facilitate the study of objects which pass into private hands; the importance of provenance in preventing the sale of forged and looted antiquities, and the processes of diligence and compliance which reinforce this. The discussion will cover case studies of good and bad practice, successes and failures, and discuss ways in
which more productive relationships might be fostered in future.

The discussion will exclude issues of the ethics of trading antiquities and the looting of archaeological sites, and will be chaired by the Society’s Director, Dr Chris Naunton.

The panellists will include: Professor David Gill, Professor of Archaeological Heritage at University Campus Suffolk and author of influential blog Looting Matters (http://lootingmatters. blogspot.co.uk/); Madeleine Perridge, Head of the Antiquities Department at Bonhams Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers; Marcel Marée, Assistant Keeper in the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan, British Museum; Heba Abd el-Gawad, PhD Student in Egyptology, University of Durham and recipient of an EES Centenary Award in 2012.

How to Participate:
We welcome questions for the panel, comments and discussion points, all of which can also be submitted on the day or in advance to contact@ees.ac.uk. In order to participate in the discussion on the day, please go to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ees-events, and follow the links to ‘Check-In and Chat’. This will allow you to connect via your UStream account (if you have one) or via Twitter or Facebook. You can also participate by tweeting @TheEES (you will need a Twitter account), or by posting on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Egypt-Exploration-Society/124272554326913?ref=hl

All comments and questions are welcome

Monday, September 17, 2012

EIGHTH ANNUAL PETRIE BOOK AUCTION

The 2012 Petrie book auction has just started.  If you have previously registered to receive the list you should have already received this notification and the first list from Petrie Books and you do not need to register again.  If you are a new member, or would like to register for the first time, or have changed your email address just send an email with 'subscribe' to:  petriebooks@ijnet.demon.co.uk.  Thank you for subscribing to the Petrie book auction - remember that you can 'unsubscribe' at any time.

The email auction will culminate on the evening of 12 October with a live auction. The auction is open to all and will be held at the Petrie Museum, Malet Place WC1. Viewing from 6.00, auction starts at 6.30

The complete list is sent out with starting prices on all volumes inviting bids (BID?).  As bids come in the bid is listed with the bidder's initials alongside, e.g. GBP  10 (JP).  TO BID, please either cut and paste title with your bid added, or give me the book number(s) and your bid. Please don't return the entire list
- unless you're bidding on everything!  Regular updates on the state of the bidding will be sent out. All bids should be sent to petriebooks@ijnet.demon.co.uk

Closing date for email bids will be Wednesday 10 October. All bids will be carried forward to the evening of 12 October.  No books will be sold before that date so that Friends and others not on email will have a chance to participate.

At the end of the bidding process the highest email bidders will be invited to submit a final ceiling-price which will ONLY be used - in increments -  if he/she is outbid on the evening.

We reserve the right to withdraw, cancel, or change the rules if it all gets too complicated.

If you wish to cancel your receipt of any further auction information just send an email with 'auction delete' in the header and we won't bother you again.

After the auction successful bidders will be contacted with the amount owed for their books.

All prices will be plus postage, payable in advance in GB pounds by cash, UK cheque, or overseas bankers cheque drawn on a UK bank, (or Post Office Giro-cheques from Europe are reasonably priced, or postal orders) so please bear that in mind when making your bid. Sorry, but we don't have the facilities to accept direct credit card payment although we can accept payment via PAYPAL. Books can be collected from the Museum by prior arrangement.


The complete list sent to you will include the starting prices on all volumes inviting bids (BID?).  As bids come in the bid is listed with the bidder's initials alongside, e.g. GBP 10 (JP). TO BID, please either cut and paste the title with your bid added, or give me the book number(s) and author and your bid. Please don't return the entire list - unless you're bidding on everything!

Regular updates on the state of the bidding are being sent out, inviting new rounds of bidding.

New books may be added to the auction.

Email bidding will close on the 10th October before the live auction on the 12th October. Instructions for final bids will be sent out closer to the time.

All bids should be sent to petriebooks@ijnet.demon.co.uk

2012 AUCTION CATALOGUE
from the donated libraries of Phyllis Grierson, Peggy Drower and others

The updated auction list is now out - if you have signed up you should now have received it.

Friends of the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology Petrie Museum Malet Place London WC1E 6BT

Thursday, September 06, 2012

Could ancient Egyptians hold the key to 3D printed ceramics?

** UWE Bristol**
Press Release

Could ancient Egyptians hold the key to 3D printed ceramics? 

A 7,000 year old technique, known as Egyptian Paste (also known as Faience), could offer a potential process and material for use in the latest 3D printing techniques of ceramics, according to researchers at UWE Bristol.

Professor Stephen Hoskins Director of UWE’s Centre for Fine Print Research  and David Huson, Research Fellow, have received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to undertake a major investigation into a self-glazing 3D printed ceramic, inspired by ancient Egyptian Faience ceramic techniques.  The process they aim to develop would enable ceramic artists, designers and craftspeople to print 3D objects in a ceramic material which can be glazed and vitrified in one firing.

The researchers believe that it possible to create a contemporary 3D printable, once-fired, self-glazing, non-plastic ceramic material that exhibits the characteristics and quality of Egyptian Faience.

Faience was first used in the 5th Millennium BC and was the first glazed ceramic material invented by man. Faience was not made from clay (but instead composed of quartz and alkali fluxes) and is distinct from Italian Faience or Majolica, which is a tin, glazed earthenware. (The earliest Faience is invariably blue or green, exhibiting the full range of shades between them, and the colouring material was usually copper). It is the self-glazing properties of Faience that are of interest for this research project.

Current research in the field of 3D printing concentrates on creating functional materials to form physical models. The materials currently used in the 3D printing process, in which layers are added to build up a 3D form, are commonly: UV polymer resins, hot melted 'abs' plastic and inkjet binder or laser sintered, powder materials. These techniques have previously been known as rapid prototyping (RP). With the advent of better materials and equipment some RP of real materials is now possible. These processes are increasingly being referred to as solid 'free-form fabrication' (SFF) or additive layer manufacture. The UWE research team have focused previously on producing a functional, printable clay body.

This three-year research project will investigate three methods of glazing used by the ancient Egyptians: ‘application glazing’, similar to modern glazing methods; ‘efflorescent glazing’ which uses water-soluble salts; and ‘cementation glazing’, a technique where the object is buried in a glazing powder in a protective casing, then fired. These techniques will be used as a basis for developing contemporary printable alternatives

Professor Hoskins explains, “It is fascinating to think that some of these ancient processes, in fact the very first glazed ceramics every created by humans, could have relevance to the advanced printing technology of today.  We hope to create a self-glazing 3D printed ceramic which only requires one firing from conception to completion rather than the usual two. This would be a radical step-forward in the development of 3D printing technologies. As part of the project we will undertake case studies of craft, design and fine art practitioners to contribute to the project, so that our work reflects the knowledge and understanding of artists and reflects the way in which artists work.”  

The project includes funding for a three-year full-time PhD bursary to research a further method used by the Egyptians, investigating coloured ‘frit’, a substance used in glazing and enamels. This student will research this method, investigating the use of coloured frits and oxides to try and create as full a colour range as possible. Once developed, this body will be used to create a ceramic extrusion paste that can be printed with a low-cost 3D printer. A programme of work will be undertaken to determine the best rates of deposition, the inclusion of flocculants and methods of drying through heat whilst printing.

This project offers the theoretical possibility of a printed, single fired, glazed ceramic object - something that is impossible with current technology.

Editor’s notes

Project title
The project: “Can Egyptian Paste Techniques (Faience) Be Used For 3D Printed, Solid Free-form Fabrication of Ceramics?” has received funding of £ 385,672 from the Arts and Humanities Research Council for the three year research project.

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funds world-class, independent researchers in a wide range of subjects: ancient history, modern dance, archaeology, digital content, philosophy, English literature, design, the creative and performing arts, and much more. This financial year the AHRC will spend approximately £98m to fund research and postgraduate training in collaboration with a number of partners. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK. For further information on the AHRC, please go to: www.ahrc.ac.uk 
Stephen Hoskins is the Hewlett Packard Professor of Fine Print and Director of the Centre for Fine Print Research at UWE Bristol. Apart from being a practising printmaker, his primary areas of research are; the potential of 3D printing and related digital technologies for the arts, plus the tactile surface of the printed artefact and its consequences for digital technology. His latest book 3D Printing for the Visual Arts (Technology That Crosses Both Art and Industry) is due to be published by Bloomsbury in early 2013. 

David Huson is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Fine Print Research leading research in the field of 3D rapid prototype printed ceramics. He has given over sixteen peer reviewed conference papers at international conferences, including three focal papers at the IS&T Digital Fabrication Conferences 2007, 2008, 2009. David will moderate the NIP28/Digital Fabrication 2012 roundtable on 3D print in Quebec in September 2012. He has an extensive industrial background, working in research and development in the ceramics industry for 20 years as a ceramic engineer, and as company director for Enoch Wedgwood Ltd, Infrared International Engineering, Phoenix Ceramics and the Moira Pottery Co.