Rigging Walters Egyptian

Project:

Rigging and installation of Egyptian Stone Sculptures

Task:

Design, fabricate, and install adjustable steel mounts and rigging equipment for large stone sculptures, some weighing near a ton.

Install and stabilize sculptures.

On the right is the entrance to the Egyptian Art Gallery at The Walters Gallery of Art. Sanders Museum Services was commissioned to mount install the large stones in their original relationships. Several other smaller and larger stones were mounted in the gallery.

The steel framework for these stones had to be quite heavy, and to allow for securing each stone in place. This work was done by a steel framing firm, and SMS was commissioned with designing the final mount mechanics and installing the artifacts in place.

Sanders thoroughly measured every aspect of each Egyptian Stone, and compared their measurements to the support system provided by the steel struts.

One of the most difficult specifications to conform to was that the faces of each stone must be in the same plane as the wall. This meant that no part of the mount should be seen by the viewer.

The task of securing the stones without hooks in the front was accomplished by a combination of balance, cantilevering, and pressure clamps. It was quite amazing for me to get my head that far into a giant stone sculpture. There was no way available to mechanically assess the many different balance points and weight shifts, particularly in the large coener stone.

Moving and lifting large, heavy, priceless objects is of course not something one can do without exploring and planning every act. Moving objects requires an intimate relationship with each object, and a clear vision of the process of moving the object from place to place.

The first supports to be built, even before the restoration of the stones, was a support plate (left), which would allow the cornerstone to be moved and turned with a forklift. After installation of the cornerstone on the elevated plate, the stone was cleaned and restored for presentation.

The cornerstone was moved into position with the forklift, and then the forxlift changed position to give it a diagonal approach to the framework. The corners of the frame, the corners of the stone, and the forward path of the forklift had to be perfectly aligned. There is an unavoidable jerkiness inherent in the movements of a forklift, even with a good operator. A stone with this much mass could crack itself against the rigid frame if it were not perfectly aligned.

The project made us all marvel at the genius of the ancient peoples in shaping and moving such massive objects without modern machinery. I think the answers in that line of puesuit are in the area of those people "feeling" the masses in the stone and knowing where the least force will accomplish the most work. That is, having your head deep in a rock.