Antique Restoration

Antique Restoration

Most people think of antique restoration in relation to furniture, but the field is truly much larger. In fact, it is vast. The range of antique objects that may need restoration goes from ancient tomb figures to gilded picture frames.

While we do work on antique furniture, particularly single spot repairs that preserve the original finish, and in-home work, we are delighted with the unusual and have brought our skills to the restoration of blown buffalo-horn lanterns from China and antique fire-engine lanterns from Connecticut. We work with glass micro-mosaic and mother-of-pearl. To this array of materials, we bring to antique restoration both advanced technology and the sensitivity of the artist. Mr. Dale was a professional gem-carver, so intricate carving and repair are a particular interest. When sculptural repair requires making missing hands or heads, the whole rest of the figure must be understood in order to reproduce it well. A dainty Meissen lady's finger is totally different than the finger of the Chinese Kwan-Yin and we are able to reproduce not only the exact color of both, but their subtle artistic import as well.

BEFORE
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AFTER
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Work with gilding always starts with understanding the customer's expectations. Brand new, complete re-gilding is only rarely needed, as it looks quite gaudy. We ask the customer if they expect the antique to look bright all over, if they like a little rubbed age, or if they like it to look really old. Our work on a given piece generally consists of a blend of cleaning, strengthening, replacing missing pieces, and some amount of re-gilding. Each antique restoration is different and the final look is an artistic judgment, which is both the challenge and delight of these jobs.

Plaster Bas-Relief Restoration

BEFORE (click image to view detail)

AFTER (click image to view detail)

This is one of two 5' x 10' plaster bas-reliefs that we restored for the University of Northern Iowa. The builders were tempted to cover them over with a wall because they looked so boring. Therefore, our challenge was not just to conserve them, which required bags of plaster and chicken wire on the backs, but to re-interpret them aesthetically to bring out the dramatic intentions of the artist. We used mica powders and burnt umber washes, selectively brightening areas of interest and adding interest to the sky. They are now displayed in the entrance foyer of the university's renovated administration building.

Re-gilding and Antique Frame Restoration

Plaster Bas-Relief Restoration