Inkjet technology travels back to ancient Egypt

Xaar, supplier of inkjet technology, sponsored an exhibition of 'The Book of the Dead of Ramose' at The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, UK.

Xaar, supplier of inkjet technology, has sponsored an exhibition of one of the finest examples of an ancient coloured document in the world: The Book of the Dead of Ramose at The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

The 3,000 year old document made up of papyrus sheets originally forming a 20m roll, will be unveiled on Tuesday 19th June and displayed until Sunday 21st September.

Visitors will have the rare opportunity to view one of the finest and most recently restored Egyptian Books of the Dead in existence.

"One of the most striking features of the Ramose papyrus is the vibrancy of colours used in the painted scenes.

It feels particularly appropriate that a company whose primary concern is with colour printing should be involved with this project".

says Julie Dawson, co-curator of the exhibition and Senior Assistant Keeper (Conservation) in the Antiquities Department.

"The technical expertise of the Egyptian artists who worked on this papyrus is outstandingly high.

Xaar has provided invaluable sponsorship towards an exhibition that allows us to bring this beautiful document before the public after two years of conservation work," added Helen Strudwick, co-curator and Outreach Officer (Ancient Egypt).

The Book of the Dead of Ramose, a high official who lived in the 12th century BC, was discovered in 1921 by the eminent archaeologist Flinders Petrie in the entrance to a tomb at Sedment in Egypt.

Its frail and fragmentary condition has prevented it from being seen ever since it was excavated more than 80 years ago.

Thanks to a major conservation and investigation project at the Fitzwilliam Museum, the papyrus will now be on display for a short time only, in order to preserve the vivid colours, allowing visitors a rare insight into the Egyptian world of the dead .

"Xaar's sponsorship of this exhibition nicely illustrates the juxtaposition of Xaar's extraordinary high-speed inkjet printing innovation in the 21st century with the lengthy, manual dexterity that was required to produce the stunning hieroglyphs in the 12th century BC," observes Nigel Berry Finance Director, Xaar.

"In these modern times we spend a great deal of time looking forward, and it is sobering to look back occasionally at the considerable challenges faced by our ancestors.

This is Xaar's way of investing in the past as well as in the future".

The conservation project has been made possible by the generous support of The Getty Foundation, The Heritage Lottery Fund, The Newton Trust and The Aurelius Charitable Trust.

Back to top