Letter from Plenderleith to Schaeffer answering his various requests and his technical report on the sectionHarold James Plenderleith

Bull Cup from the Franco-British Excavations at Enkomi. Technical Report by H. J. Plenderleith. British Museum Research Laboratory

The bull cup is of a shape similar to that recorded from a previous excavation on the site,* but whereas this was a plain silver vessel, it was clear from the first glance that the latest version was a decorated object of outstanding interest and importance. Although completely covered with an incrustation of green corrosion products (Fig. [handwritten: 1] ), fragments of thin gold were to be seen adhering to the surface, partially buried in the patina and partially detached, but suggesting without doubt that we had here to deal with the remains of a symmetrical arcaded pattern which ran round the outside of the vessel.

The present Report describes the laboratory examination and restoration of the cup and some facts are added regarding the technique of manufacture that were revealed in the course of the work.

Examination and Restoration

Preliminary examination at a point where the gold had become detached revealed the presence of a black powdery substance: this contained no carbon. Spectrographic analysis showed the major constituents to be silver and copper. It was, in fact, a residue of niello and its position, beneath the gold, was of the greatest significance as niello could only have been satisfactorily applied over a gold or silver ground. To investigate this point further, X-radiographs were taken and these put the matter beyond doubt. The bowl was fashioned in a silver-copper alloy from which a certain proportion of the copper constituent had leached out to form the green incrustation referred to above. The X-rays showed further that the original decoration in gold and niello still survived though completely concealed under this incrustation (Fig.[handwritten: 2] ). The problem resolved itself, therefore, into discovering how to remove the incrustation and reveal the ornament without losing such of the niello as remained.

There were certain obvious complications. The metal was extremely brittle and annealing was out of the question as the niello was decayed and would not stand heating. The silver was badly cracked, moreover, three large fragments having broken away in antiquity as well as part of the handle;