Ancient paintings brought to light

By Nevine El-Aref
The wall paintings at St Anthony's Monastery have long been known to monks and to art historians, but until recently they were obscured by thick accretions of soot, candle grease, oil and dust. Early this week, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), in collaboration with the American Research Centre in Egypt (ARCE), held a ceremony marking the completion of a project to clean and restore these unique wall paintings.
Located at the at the foot of Al-Qalzam Mountain in Wadi Araba in the Red Sea governorate, the monastery marks the location where St Anthony established one of the world's first Christian monastic communities.
St Anthony's influence spread throughout the Christian world following his death when his friend St Athanasius wrote the ascetic's life story. Monks as far away as Ireland and the western isles of Scotland sought out the wildest locations in which to emulate the practices of the "father of monasticism."
The monastery contains wall paintings using techniques from various periods and artistic traditions. One set of paintings is attributed to an Egyptian Coptic team led by a master named Theodore. The other is by an unknown group with artistic connections to the Byzantine tradition as it developed in Cyprus. The oldest paintings date to the seventh and eighth centuries, while the newest were done in the 13th century.
Throughout the ages the paintings were damaged by over painting and use of the rooms they grace as a refuge for early Christians fleeing persecution by the Romans, said Gaballa Ali Gaballa secretary-general of the SCA.
The drive to conduct the just-completed project began in 1992 when part of a team of Italian restorers working on Queen Nefertari's tomb in Luxor sent one of their colleagues to do test cleanings of the monastery's artefacts. The tests revealed that the paintings, hidden for centuries, were extraordinarily well-preserved.
In June 1996, a major project was initiated to restore the windows, repair the monastery roof, domes, floor and woodwork alongside the work on the paintings. The project was financed by a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and carried out by ARCE in collaboration with the SCA and an Italian restoration team under the direction of the late Paolo Mora and Laura Mora.
The doors of the church were restored by remounting their original 13th century inlaid panels in new frames thereby replicating the originals which were too severely damaged to be conserved.
The ceremony marking the completion of the project was attended by Gaballa, Environment Minister Nadia Makram Ebeid, American Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, Red Sea governor Said Abul-Rida and Bishop Yustus, head of the monastery.
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