Coffin lid of But-har-chonsu

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Over 120 years after it was unearthed from a rock-cut tomb in the Theban necropolis in Upper Egypt, the lid of the outer sarcophagus of But-har-chonsu, a priestess who lived around 1000 BC, takes center stage in a small exhibition curated by the Near-Eastern and Ancient Egyptian Collection at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The museum collaborated with the Institute of Conservation - Restoration at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna to comprehensively restore the coffin-lid between 2011 and 2014. Following thorough analyses, conservators identified previously misassembled pieces in the construction of the lid, removed them, and reassembled them correctly; they also found countless "homeless" fragments that were incorporated into the restoration. The exhibition showcases this captivating process and offers a glimpse into the meticulous work of the conservators who worked tirelessly to bring the ancient relic back to its former glory.