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A New approach to the design of kiln furniture for the firing of cuneiform tablets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2014

Sophia Brookes
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Abstract

The kiln furniture made for the Cuneiform Tablet Laboratory at the British Museum was nearing the end of its working life by 1992. A design project was thus undertaken to produce a kiln furniture solution that meets with the current conservation criteria, loosely based upon traditional potters' saggars. The primary innovation is a perforated refractory dish providing the same compartment throughout the firing and the desalination treatments. After three years' service the new kiln furniture's performance is assessed by comparison with the former “Inconel” firing basket and stainless-steel wire gauze equipment.

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 59 , 1997 , pp. 203 - 207
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 1997 

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Footnotes

*

Sophia Brookes is a cuneiform tablet conservator in the Department of Conservation at the British Museum. She received an honours degree in ceramics from the Central School of Art and Design, London, in 1983 and a diploma in ceramics conservation from West Dean College, Sussex, in 1985. She has specialised in cuneiform conservation since 1992. Address: The British Museum, Department of Conservation, Ceramics and Glass Section, London WC1B 3DG.

References

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