TERRACOTTA STATUE
A terracotta statue of William Harvey belonging to the Medical Society of London. The statue was made by Charles Bell Birch in 1886.The object was broken in several places and had multiple old repairs. The worst damage was on the right arm of the statue which had broken off from the elbow and held in place with tape.
The object was going to be placed on display and the owner asked for restoration of the object and any missing parts to be replaced. They also wanted the restorations to be invisible. It was possible to follow the clients wishes because of an existing reference picture that showed the original shape and size of the missing parts. The impainting was matched closely to the original surface but upon close examination could be detected.
During the treatment all of the old repairs and inpaintings were removed. The surface was cleaned with acetone. Cellulose nitrate was used to addhere the pieces back together. Fine Surface Polyfilla was used for infilling and missing fingers were also shaped out of it. Acrylic paints were used for the inpainting.
After the conservation the object was stable and the aesthetic appearance of the art piece had been improved.
The arm was held in place with two strips of tape and a piece of newspaper placed inside it.
The hand had been painted with a colour that did not match the original surface. The inpainting also extended over the original surface.
The hand had two fingers missing and two of the other fingers were held in place with silicone rubber.
A reference picture of the object was found in "Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England"
All of the old repairs were removed as well as the inpaintings.
Remaining pieces of the hand were adhered together, losses were filled and two missing fingers were replaced. The Fine Surface Polyfilla was coloured to resemble the original material.
