Then the fully painted figures were assembled. The assembly sequence was important as all the figures were interlocked. First, the two Egyptian servants were epoxied into their positions. Then the Antony-soldier pair was epoxied. The Nubian slave was now added and epoxied. Some minor details were re-worked to ensure that the figures integrated well within this group on the settee.

The statue of Sekhmet was sculpted from epoxy putty over the wooden armature (Fig 9). When most of the statue was sculpted, the helmeted soldier standing on it was pinned and epoxied to the statue to fix his position (Fig 10). The wire insert from the hoist was attached to the helmeted soldier. Putty was then used to create basic shapes for the hoists and the details were then sculpted later.

The Roman Group – This comprised a Roman senator (fully visible) and behind him, a Roman standard-bearer. A piece of brass wire was cut to serve as the Roman standard handle (Fig 11).

The Cleopatra Group - The women figures were easier to sculpt as their lower bodies were not visible below the parapet (Fig 12).

Fig 9. Construction of the Sekhmet statue. a –armature and head; b – finished sculpture; c – undercoated with enamels.

Fig 10. The Sekhmet statue with attached helmeted soldier, fully painted.

Fig 11. Construction of the Roman Group. a – figures being sculpted; b – the Roman standard was made from a Historex eagle, cardboard and some brass trinkets; c - figures fully painted.

Fig 12. Construction of the Cleopatra Group. a – figures being sculpted; b – fully painted.\

Continue reading...