Letter from Plenderleith to Schaeffer on the procedure for obtaining a replica of the bowlClaude Frédéric-Armand Schaeffer

Handwritten at top left: "P. 36" style mark

THE BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON, W.C.1 Department of Research Laboratory

TELEPHONE: Museum [redacted] 1555

27th August, 1953

Dear Dr. Schaeffer,

Thank you for your kind acknowledgement of the Enkomi Cup replica. It was made by the electrotyping process to reproduce all surface detail exactly in copper and after disfigurement(!) with our stamp was plated with silver and parcel gilt. There was then the problem of copying the niello. Metal colouring processes were tried and found not good enough and we eventually used a carbon pigment suspended in lacquer and we blacked out the niello with a fine brush.

You will note that the weakness lies in the fact that this imitation niello could be rubbed off and hence in cleaning off any tarnish from the silver one would have to be careful. But I think it should mature quite nicely in patina if it is protected from industrial atmospheres.

We made an exact copy of yours for Ashmole.

It was good of you to acknowledge our work to the Trustees: they like that sort of thing.

I hope you have a very interesting and profitable season.

Yours sincerely,

Handwritten: signature

Dr. C. F. A. Schaeffer, Le Castel Blanc, 14 Rue Turgot, St. Germain-en-Laye.