​Restoration Process

 

It is with absolute care and respect for the artifact and the journey it has lead that I approach its repair.  It is of upmost importance to me while bringing the object back to life it retains as much of the original finish and aged quality so that its unique historical journey remains intact.  This takes a fine balance and sensitivity to leaving its aged look while simultaneously bringing it to a more uplifted and vibrant state.  It is a very delicate process that involves great patience and attention to detail.  

Consolidation is perhaps the most important part of the process and often the most time consuming and unfortunately the least glamorous.  It must be in a solid and structural state above all so that the degradation of the object will be halted or slowed.  Special adhesives are used for structural elements as well as to retain the finishes.  Often these are applied to every nook and cranny.  

Recasting and Rebuilding  In cases of lost sculptural or decorative elements, a mold may be made from other areas where it may have been repeated.  In cases where there is not this luxury, an object may be hand carved in wood or sculpted to match as closely as possible to mimic its original form.  In some cases research is needed to find the appropriate shape. Smaller missing areas and cracks are filled to detract the eye.   All areas are sanded very carefully at the very edges for a near seamless transition with very minimal removal of original surroundings. 

Refinish  Each individual repair will be carefully treated to match the surrounding areas as close as possible to the original finish and antiqued patina.  In most cases similar techniques or the original process will be used in order to recreate as close of a match as possible.  Gold Leaf 22k with layers of clay bole underneath to burnish the gold and or metal leaf will be used when appropriate.  Non-tarnishing, UV resistant, hand mixed mica colors may be utilized in tiny areas where leafing is not feasible.  The outer edges of the frames will be touched out with a hand matched paint or stain.  Other objects will be matched with pigmentation thats qualities are most appropriate to the original finish.
 
Cleaning  A very light cleaning with solutions that will not remove or compromise the original finish.  The majority of the patina and natural antiquing will be left as part of the beauty only time could create.

Toning and Antiquing  The gold patch will be a much lighter finish than the original surfaces and will need to be first sealed with a shellac or varnish and then “toned down” with pigmentation to dirty up the vibrancy to match the natural aging go the surrounding finish.
 
Fitting Art into frames  Includes all standard hanging hardware and museum standard materials and UV filtering glazing