Letter from Schaeffer to Nicolaou on various objects lent or deposited at Mainz for restorationClaude Frédéric-Armand Schaeffer

Saint-Germain, 14 January 1974

Handwritten: signature

Mr. K. NICOLAOU Curator of the Cyprus Museum N I C O S I A Island of Cyprus

Dear Mr. Chief Curator,

I thank you for your letters of 4 July and 27 December 1973. - For the bronzes of Enkomi-Alasia, campaign 1965, we were able, with the help of the photos kindly sent by you, to identify the places from which these objects came. But we cannot inventory them, for each piece would have to be reviewed, described and measured. This must therefore wait until the return of the Mission to Enkomi and to Nicosia. I will hand the photos to M. Lagarce before his departure. According to M. Courtois, various bronzes from the 1963 campaign (18 pieces) were deposited at the Museum laboratory with a list, and we have not seen them again. I do not yet know whether M. K. has issued an excavation permit for this year to M. Pelon.

The sherds and some other objects that had been sent to Mainz for restoration or cleaning will be returned to you as soon as the notes necessary for publication have been taken. The most important of these objects: 20.252, 21.29 and 21.41 (mouse) have already been returned by Mainz and I will bring them to you at the next opportunity. Thank you for extending the undertakings for one year.

I hope you have made your desiderata known to Mainz concerning the ingot god and the Salamis head that I left there on returning from Cyprus and Syria last November. As for the god, I think the beautiful light-green patina should on no account be sacrificed, even if one must give up seeing all the details for it. However, a qualitative analysis of the bronze (or copper) could be made, since a minimal quantity of metal could be taken from beneath the base of the ingot or from the tenon.