The only Egyptian building in the United Kingdom, the shrine of Taharqa, dating from about 684 BC was excavated at Kawa and transported to Oxford in the 1930s and subsequently re-erected in its present location in the Ashmolean Museum. During and after excavation the sandstone blocks were coated with cellulose nitrate which became discolored and cracked, resulting in disruption of the original painted decoration. This coating was completely removed from three of the walls in 1968 and replaced by a paraffin wax salve. The fourth, west wall had the coating only partially removed and by 1983 severe disruption of the paint layers was occurring. This contribution dicusses the problems of the practical processes encountered in separating the dirt and surface coatings from the fragile underlying paint layers and re-securing cupping and flaking polychromy. The original painting technique and historical context of the shrine are also outlined.