Restoration Services
9 Mystic Street
Arlington, MA 02474
781-648-3322

info@restorationservices.com

Recent Projects

Below are photos and descriptions of some of our recent projects.

1100 Years of Bad Luck?

This Tang Dynasty mirror (about 6" diameter) was shattered into more than 30 pieces. Made from an interesting metallic composition, the mirror retained some of its mirror shine even after 1100 years, but it also was very fragile and shattered when dropped. The back of the mirror has mythological beasts and Chinese characters in raised relief.
Putting it back together was a very painstaking process involving countless pieces of tape and numerous small clamps. It was adhered with optical epoxy, and is now in its original form. The cracks are hard to find.

Since moving to Arlington and sharing a park with Arlington's Cyrus Dallin Museum, I have worked with several Dallin sculptures. The sculpture featured here is in a private collection, and is dated 1897. It was not until after that date that the full scale bronze was completed for the city of Philadelphia, where it now stands. This dating and some features of the plaster itself, make it possible that this was initially a working model for Dallin's creation of the original bronze.
When I received it, the extended arm was missing and one leg and both horns were shattered. The whole piece was dirty gray, and there was water erosion on one hind hoof. Extensive cleaning with Vulpex in mineral spirits revealed an original toning layer of shellac that was spread on the piece to soften and warm up the harsh white of the plaster. The Dallin Museum kindly loaned me their bronze of the image, which though smaller, had the same powerful gesture. I used my skill as a figurative sculptor to make a new arm, down to the fingernails, on the correct scale. The sculpture now looks, I believe, as the sculptor intended it to look in 1897, clearly showing the strong emotion—almost anguish—on the face of The Medicine Man, and his heartfelt gesture of peace.

Micro Mosaics

Micro mosaics were made all through the 19th century, largely in Rome, where they came from several workshops. The craftsmen there were originally commissioned by the Papacy to make glass micro mosaic replacements for the major paintings that hang in the main sanctuary of the Vatican. These old-master paintings were being degraded by the severe environmental conditions in that huge space. The micro mosaic copies were so well made that to this day, almost no one realizes that they are not real paintings. Once through with this work, the craftsmen accepted commissions from Italian and European nobility, and came to supply a unique form of mementos for English (and American) tourists on the “Grand Tour.” These plaques, tables, boxes and brooches depicted the famous Italian sights—The Coliseum, St. Peter's, etc.—that they saw on their tour. Two objects are pictured here, one because it is so magnificent, and one because it shows some of the restoration steps more clearly.
In its original condition, the gilded box (above) was badly twisted, having been apparently dropped. This also broke two of the side panels, one of which is pictured. Luckily the top panel, a detailed view of the Roman Forum, surrounded by inlaid malachite, was unbroken, though dirty. Also, the gilded bronze of the box itself, had become brown, and long lines along most of the edges had been worn free of their original gilding. After all the panels were removed, meticulous polishing, colored lacquers, and careful bending restored the gilded frame.
All the mosaics were cleaned and re-waxed, but the repair work on the broken panels will be best understood from the second object pictured here, gold washed silver plated mosaic of the Pantheon. While it is not as spectacular as the box, the before photo at left shows the condition of the mosaic—how cracked and offset the black glass surround was. This was corrected first by clamping it securely flat while stabilizing the cracks and the mosaic with an optical epoxy. The second photo (center) shows the mosaic masked off with latex to allow the black glass surround to be coated first with an acrylic then with an optical epoxy. Once dry this can be safely sanded and then re-coated to re-create the shiny surround, while the original cracked on lies unscratched underneath. The mosaic itself had a few tiles filled in with optical epoxy, and then it was re-waxed with colored waxes that match the originals (which were generally grouted with colored waxes). The brooch itself was soft-soldered with support pegs, cleaned and carefully polished (gold wash is vanishingly thin).

Re-gilding and Antique Frame Restoration

	BEFORE (click for larger image)		AFTER (click for larger image)
	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.

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