During a trip to St. Petersburg, organized by the Coca-Cola company, the editors website I was able to visit not only , but also the “Old Village” - the restoration and storage center of the Hermitage, which houses more than 1.2 million exhibits.
We offer you a quick tour of the storage facility and the opportunity to look into other restoration workshops of the Hermitage.
(Total 30 photos)
1) At the storage facility there is a class for blind and visually impaired children - “The Past at Your Fingertips”, in which children can learn more about archeology and independently “touch” the past using special models. For example, in the photo there is a model of a real settlement Ancient Rus', recreated by archaeologists. All the details are very textured, “speaking” to the sensitive fingers of blind people.
3) Here, for example, is a “couple” from Ancient Pskov and two curious bloggers.
4) There are many restoration workshops at the Staraya Derevnya restoration and storage center. I was especially impressed by the metal restoration workshop...
5) In the middle of the small room there is a huge work table, which is divided by partitions into three zones, thus creating three workstations for restorers.
6) This is what it is like - the workplace of a metal restorer.
8) Restoration of an ancient broadsword.
9) Not only weapons are restored, but also metal frames of ancient books.
10) Restorer at work.
12) There is a lot of high-tech equipment in the workshop. I was especially struck by the compact device, which determines the exact composition of the alloy.
13) Chemistry in the service of restorers.
14) In Staraya Derevnya, even the banal alarm system on the doors is designed in an unusual way.
16) Just like with - restorers of oil paintings check with reproductions different eras, they take x-rays of the pictorial layers, and so on. Sometimes you even have to transfer a work of art to another substrate. And all because of the grinder bug - it can completely eat the board on which the medieval master painted his picture.
17) After the restoration workshops, we went to the storage facility itself. To say that it is huge is to say nothing. We wandered through the endless halls, located on several floors, for about two hours. It was a real museum marathon.
18) Medieval frescoes of Smolensk and Pskov - they were removed from the walls of temples excavated by archaeologists.
19) Fragment of the floor from the palace of Vasily III in Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda.
20) Garuda bird made from a single piece of mahogany. Gifted by the President of Indonesia in 2002.
21) In the sculpture hall.
23) Two-Faced Janus
24) There are also modern works in the sculpture hall...
25) ...and classic...
« Restoration- restoration of dilapidated or destroyed monuments of antiquity, art in their original form” - S. Ozhegov, Dictionary of the Russian Language.
Time flies by! This fresh thought flashed especially brightly when I suddenly realized that the most simple objects household items from the middle of the last (that is, 20th) century managed to imperceptibly turn into true rarities. For example, a tube radio “Baltika” produced in 1953, familiar from childhood, with a sound quality inaccessible to today’s plastic monsters, which, fortunately, was not thrown out, but rests quietly in the closet as a relic of bygone days.
It is only in good old England that for centuries a measured way of life and healthy traditions have unobtrusively encouraged and are encouraging the British to cherish their great-grandmother's mirrors, chests of drawers and armchairs as self-evident companions in life. So, one of my good friends, John, has a family talisman safely on his shelf - a fragile three-hundred-year-old ruby glass jug. And, by the way, real Englishmen can’t stand plastic windows and other “European-quality renovations”, but prefer to clean and paint their own real century-old wooden frames from year to year, because they perfectly understand the elementary, but completely inaccessible to the Russian mind, principle of creating home comfort - there is no and cannot be a normal life among plastic and other "high-tech".
By the way, Russia (partly due to the mentality of the bulk of the population, partly due to insurmountable historical events) cannot boast of similar stability. The wild social cataclysms that tormented the country one after another led to the washing away of antiquities from apartments and houses, to their replacement with simple, cheap copies. Therefore, 99% of all available antiquities in our country today are represented by mass-produced pieces of furniture and utensils of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, with which a vast middle class- merchants and bureaucrats. But even this pseudo ANTIQUES was actively transferred to fires and trash heaps as more and more “fashionable and modern” designs appeared, which, in turn, gradually deformed ideas about what good human housing should look like, in which both soul and body find peace.
In this regard, it is advisable to clarify the terms, since very often chairs, vases and gramophones of 1915 are called "antique", unreasonably extending a high-profile name to quite ordinary things, which initially meant precisely antiquity, or, in extreme cases, objects of material culture no less than five centuries old. But in the appropriate place in the dictionary of S.I. Ozhegov speaks only about “ancient and valuable” objects, without specifying the statute of limitations, so let it remain as it is, just don’t call it a chair from Stalin’s times “ antique" By the way, in Japan, traditional samurai swords even one hundred years old are officially considered “modern”.
Since it would be unjustified arrogance and even impudence on the part of the author to try to talk about everyone known species restoration work, in some ways he is not much more experienced than most readers, the subject of the publication is limited to two personally familiar sections, namely: wood and metal.
Aspects of restoration of paintings, items made of bone, ceramics and glass are occasionally touched upon, but such specific and complex “patients” as paper (and everything connected with it), leather, fabrics, etc. remain completely aside, because the indicated substances, among other things, require a complex and professional set of measures for their conservation using an extensive arsenal of purely chemical methods.
Based on this, our areas of interest remain: furniture, including a whole host of small items that fill houses and apartments, as well as a small assortment of metal items, from pokers to bronze candelabra and figurines.
However, why is the publication dedicated to “home” restoration , and what types in general restoration exist?
Let such a classification remain on my conscience, but I would venture to say that only one other species is actually known (without going into details) restoration - museum, also scientific or historical.
Being branches of a single tree, these genres have such a set of features in techniques and methods, as well as in the approach to assessing the admissibility of certain actions, that it would be fair to give the differences the rank of “fundamental”.
Strictly speaking, household antique restoration is an extremely simplified version of a museum, and in fairness should be called the dull word “repair”, however, the border is very blurred, and only the level of personal qualifications of the master, his experience, attention and degree of respect for the ancient monument will ultimately determine the quality and status work. I have seen enough of both the amazingly professional creations of amateurs and the primitive sloppiness of “professionals.” For example, one of my good friends once brought home floor english watch chiming, tall and majestic, which in their homeland are popularly called “Grandfather’s Clock” (“grandfather’s clock”, in contrast to the wall clock, called “grandmother’s”). He brought them in the winter on two sleds in the form of a shapeless pile of frost-covered rubbish. But, looking at them after resuscitation, any specialist would swear on the bones of their ancestors that they stood in their original form in Winston Churchill’s office from the day they were made. And it only took a couple of years of very meticulous work using materials such as silver, shellac, walnut, etc. Of course, they go perfectly and ring melodiously for the prescribed periods of time. Being an amateur in the most literal and noble sense of the word, this wizard simply did the thing for himself, regardless of time, and the result exceeded expectations. But let's get back to the topic.
Museum RESTORATION
As a fundamental and strict requirement, the reversibility of the results of the work reigns here, meaning that even after three hundred years, descendants should be able to completely remove traces of intervention, so that valuable junk can appear at least in a dull, but pristine form. This is truly justified, since historical value absolutely all components are antique item, including a rusty nail or piece of lace. In themselves, such little things seem funny, but think about it: a nail or spring like this will never be made again. Never! Accordingly, we have before us, at least a tiny window into the past. By the way, antique nails represent most interesting object collecting, since most of them are forged, with unexpected cross-sectional shapes, twisted, etc.
Therefore, when working with a museum exhibit, the master is obliged to reduce any changes introduced to a minimum, which immediately imposes a number of categorical restrictions on the tools and technology. The determining criterion for the quality of work is the complete and reliable restoration of appearance - but nothing more!
It is necessary to create visibility, but operational and strength characteristics are not taken into account. They will never sleep on a bed, eat at a table, or sit in a chair, so the problem is functionality antique thing relegated to the background or third place. Of course, it is necessary to rid dilapidated rarities of dilapidation, but not at the expense of historical truth, since absolutely every detail is of scientific value, even if eaten by rust or worms. By the way, an irreconcilable chemical war is being waged with both the first and the second, and sophisticated methods of clearing, passivation, disinfestation and conservation occupy almost the leading place in working with museum exhibits. As a matter of fact, clearing, replenishing losses and final conservation constitute a necessary and sufficient list of operations performed on anything truly valuable. antique item.
In practice, this is manifested in the selection of means, which must be superficial and gentle, with minimal deformation of the author's intentions.
Of course, powerful abrasives, modern adhesive compositions, varnishes, paints and other chemicals (except for solvents and preservatives) are unacceptable. Everything should be traditional, in accordance with the era: if the glue is, then it is carpentry (bone, flesh) or casein, or fish, if the varnish is then shellac, etc. The lost fragments are replaced strictly according to the example of the surviving ones, from exactly the same material, no matter how rare it may be. Horsehair is replacing horsehair, Karelian birch and rosewood are replacing birch and rosewood, and bronze casting is being placed in its rightful place.
But this is in theory, because in reality the couches of Catherine II and the staffs of Ivan the Terrible have long been restored, and pre-revolutionary merchant utensils do not inspire the master to creative feats - and instead of ivory and silver, a more or less passable imitation is made of plastic and aluminum. By the way, the attitude of museum workers themselves (with rare exceptions) towards the pile of treasures that they are called upon to protect, cherish and replenish does not in any way inspire restorers to creative exploits. Probably, everything is more or less fine in the Hermitage, but provincial museums demonstrate such disregard for the safety of collections that one is taken aback. I personally had the opportunity to compare the current state of objects with what took place five to ten years ago - and marvel that this happened to them in a quiet museum haven. So let the zealots of the academic restoration hold your poisonous tongues!
Home RESTORATION
Or, let's put it this way: restoring loved ones antiques in domestic conditions. Here two directions can be distinguished - either a valuable relic is removed from oblivion through such diligence and the amount of time spent that a professional museum restorer cannot afford (as in the story with the English clock), or antique item it is simply repaired, and the main goal of the work is strength and durability.
Meticulous preservation appearance antiques is by no means a priority; it is quite acceptable to replace types of wood, methods of fastening parts, some metal parts with more or less suitable ones, the use of modern household chemicals, etc.
The advantage here is that the home craftsman is completely unrestricted by deadlines and is free to scrape and dry, wash and varnish his jewelry for years, especially since often it is the process itself that becomes the real meaning of the work.
The good technical equipment of the workshop (as well as its very presence) is assumed a priori, since it is of little use to go into a specific event with only a hammer, pliers and a couple of blunt chisels in addition to a rusty brace. There is nothing worse than correcting the monstrous consequences of the barbaric actions of some “Uncle Vasya”, who was once invited to “repair” a table or a rickety carved chair, since this audience is accustomed to making do with nails and an ax. The results of such repairs sometimes make you think that it would be better if the unlucky item was immediately thrown into the fire.
In the vain hope of stopping the increased mischief of the hands of home craftsmen, fueled by the internal itch to do everything in one’s own way, this publication is intended to kill two birds with one stone - to tell not only how and what should be done, but also what should not be done, and sometimes categorically it is forbidden. Perhaps this will help at least a little in preserving individual items for another hundred years, almost in the form they once had.
Design Institute for Restoration
historical and cultural monuments "Spetsproektrestavratsiya"
BASICS OF ARCHITECTURAL METAL RESTORATION
Moscow 1992
The second part of the guide to the basics of restoration of architectural metal is devoted to specific issues of conservation in restoration metal elements architectural structures. The basic safety rules when working with architectural metal are given. The publication is accompanied by a terminological dictionary.
The directory is addressed to restoration workers, architects, students of specialized educational institutions, foremen and foremen for practical work during the restoration of architectural monuments with metal elements.
© Institute Spetsproektrestavratsiya, 1992
I. CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION OF ARCHITECTURAL METAL
I.I. Basic principles
A comprehensive scientific study of architectural metal is closely connected with an architectural monument: its general construction structures and materials (brick, masonry, wood, plaster, painting, objects of applied art); Dating of metal is carried out according to the nature of processing and its marks.
Studying the features of architectural metal; purpose of structures, their corrosion state, strength ( beam floors, trusses, roof structures, domes, spiers; frames, fences, gratings, supports, connections, etc.).
Studying archival materials, contracts with builders, blacksmiths, establishing renovations and restorations.
Laboratory research of metal for types of corrosion, structural strength, alloy compositions, the possibility of using various types of soldering, welding, cleaning from corrosion and oil painting, etc.
Development of technological “tactics” for restoration: with dismantling metal structures ( building structures made of stone, brick, wood and other materials with temporary strengthening and support of the main architectural and construction elements - vaults, arches, columns, pillars, elements, walls, etc.) or without disassembly.
Development of conservation technology using cathodic and sacrificial protection against corrosion, as well as putties, primers, sealants and paints.
Development of methods for the installation of metal structures with the production of general construction work, preliminary repair of brick, stone, wood and other types of materials, preparation of nests for the subsequent installation of metal elements (beam structures), connections, lintels, parapets, balconies and stair railings, flights of stairs, metal flooring, window grilles, shutters, etc.
Development of methods for the restoration of architectural metal (casting, forging, embossing, electroplating, metal-plastic, surfacing) with the preliminary production of models of missing decorative elements or the inclusion of original elements in the model for subsequent molding and casting.
Determining the type of material used in reconstruction and recreation decorative elements architectural metal: low-melting aluminum alloy, polymer and organosilicon materials, etc.
Development of methods and types of fastening elements to each other (soldering, forge welding, gas or electric welding, riveting, gluing, etc.) and installation on the monument with disassembly of fragments, dismantling and transportation for restoration to workshops or work on site with subsequent installation on a monument, using certain mechanisms and devices for this. For roofing coverings, developments, patterns and working drawings must be provided indicating the types of articulations of the paintings (for example, “in a rebate”, “in a batten”, “in a rivet”), as well as templates for figured elements.
The architectural metal restoration project should reflect the technology of clearing, painting, gilding and other types of decorative finishing with maximum preservation of the original elements and fragments of the monument, with special care for all methods of finishing artistic technique ancient metals.
In each specific case, the issue of determining the qualifications and specialty of the direct performers of restoration work should be decided by a commission (architects, art historians, representatives of monument protection inspection bodies) on the spot with the drawing up of an appropriate act for the work.
Only restorers-metal artists of a certain category or class certified by the commission of cultural bodies can be allowed to carry out restoration work, while restoration roofing coverings, ornamental cast iron elements, etc. workers may be admitted - roofing restorers, metal structure restorers or restorers artistic products And decorative items not lower than 4 6 categories.
In some cases, various groups of restorers may be involved in the production of restoration and conservation newspapers with a specific definition of the types and location of work.
The act for carrying out restoration work must also determine the category of complexity of the architectural, structural and decorative elements of the monument (I, II or III categories) and formulate a conclusion on the technical condition of the metal structure of the monument with the attachment of a fixation (for metal) drawing, loss maps and conclusions on research results.
The act for carrying out restoration work must be drawn up in 5 copies: for the customer, for the inspection for the protection of monuments, for performers, for design organization, for the archive of the institution.
In the process of carrying out restoration work, photographic recording is carried out before the start of work, during the process and after its completion (photo prints 13x12 cm with a clear image of the plot) in the amount of 5 copies of each plot.
In some cases, when necessary, reports are drawn up for hidden types of work according to existing rules (when clearing away corrosion and paint, when making up for losses followed by painting, etc.).
The technological part of the architectural metal restoration project and the work performance certificate must set out safety, industrial, sanitary and fire safety(since when carrying out restoration work on metal, performers deal with hot work, mechanisms, chemical reagents, solvents, removers, paint compositions on various bases, sealants, acids and alkalis), as well as safety rules when working at height.
Taking into account the specifics of the production of restoration of architectural metal, it is necessary to strictly observe the sequence of operations and work technology, especially for the restoration of artistic metal - gold guidance, engraved designs on metal, etc.
Replacement of materials must be agreed in writing with chemical technologists. When using gold and silver in the process of restoration of architectural metal, the author of the restoration project - the architect - must give the performers all necessary documentation: calculations of areas for gilding, consumption rates of precious metals, etc. according to existing rules. For example, the weight of zealot leaf should be indicated in books depending on the operating conditions of the gilding (in the interior, when gilding domes, crosses, valances), the type of gilding (Mordan, Gulfarba or Yan-52), washing methods and cleaning old gilding /42/ .
It should be noted that the gilding removed by scraping or gilding together with metal coating, as well as the remains of gilding from new gilding are subject to delivery to special plants for processing waste of non-ferrous and precious metals / 42 /.
metal tinting
After a thorough external inspection of architectural metal objects, determining its type, composition, artistic value, design features, external factors affecting the monument (temperature and humidity conditions, environmental conditions), it is necessary to determine technological tactics, restoration techniques and methods, the sequence of work, as well as methods of conservation, strengthening, corrosion protection and others.
I.2.1. Surface clearing and preparation
Metal
The first stage in the study of metal and its further restoration and conservation is clearing and preparing the surface for various types of processing.
Depending on the type of metal and alloys, the presence of decor, its nature, manufacturing technology (cutting, forging, embossing, casting, electroplating, hammering, etc.), the type of cleaning is selected: chemical, fire or thermal, sandblasting, water sandblasting, shot blasting, abrasive, steam-stripping, physical, carried out with impact and cutting-scraping instruments (scalpels, scratchers, cleavers, needles, steel brushes, etc.) with subsequent washing, neutralization and degreasing of restoration objects.
Clearings in restoration have different purposes:
- clearing-probes associated with the scientific study of the monument for the purpose of restoration, serve to clarify the original appearance, condition, nature of changes, repairs, renovations, identify artistic, constructive and technological features structures and materials of the monument (documented by special acts, keeping logs, measurements, photographs, graphic documentation, etc.);
- trial clearings determine and develop methods, recipes and technologies for clearing metal elements of an architectural monument;
- clearing - "marks"- layer-by-layer disclosure of the paint layer to reveal the nature and types of paint layers, initial colors, relief, pattern, oil-varnish coatings, gilding. Clearings - "marks" are documented in the same way as clearing-probes; they are of a limited nature (several cm 2) and are left on the object (fragment) constantly to control the correct determination of color, texture, type of painting and decorative processing during the restoration process;
- fragmentary clearings- clearing metal in certain places to identify and preserve original fragments that survived on the monument during its existence;
- complete metal stripping from painting, layering and corrosion for subsequent anti-corrosion treatment and final decorative finishing, both while preserving the original colors and finishing the depth of the relief, and with complete clearing of places of loss to the metal surface (depending on the restoration task).
During the clearing, the general condition of the metal, the type of metal and its alloys, strength, character, rate of corrosion formation, technology for manufacturing metal elements by casting, forging, rolling, embossing, hammering, electroplating, engraving, various types of “tucking”, tinning, gilding are determined. etc.
It should be noted that each type of architectural metal requires its own specific inspection for restoration. For example, decorative metal (perforated metal, gold honing, silvering, gilding, polychrome painting) requires special technology and material, as well as craftsmen - gilders and high-class artists.
Chemical method of clearing metal - the most common. It is relatively harmless to metal and finishing coatings, but requires special care where, presumably, there is silvering, gilding, gold plating, etc. under paint.
In addition, it must be borne in mind that in the XVI-XVII centuries. there were monochrome and polychrome coloring metal bonds and rods in the interiors of churches and chambers.
Chemical methods of metal clearing ensure the preservation of the relief, layer-by-layer clearing of the metal surface, both without disassembling fragments and with disassembling. In some cases, depending on the size, fragments are cleaned by immersion in a bath of solution.
Thus, to clean the cast iron gun carriages in the Moscow Kremlin from paint and corrosion, experiments established the most effective chemical etching compositions (in grams per 1 liter of solution): sulfuric acid - 175 ± 25, sodium chloride - 120 ± 10, sulfacol - 4 ± 1 with etching exposure up to 90 min. This made it possible to completely remove paint and corrosion products; but this method is excluded in case of deep corrosion, since intense saturation of the metal with hydrogen increases the fragility of the metal.
It was possible to speed up the removal of paint from cast iron fragments by preliminary etching with a solution (g/l): sulfuric acid - 150-180, sodium chloride - 30-40, PB-5 inhibitor - 5-7 (etching exposure 1 hour, temperature 20°C) .
Chemical cleaning involves mainly three technological methods: etching; cleaning paint layers with washes and hand tools; degreasing and protecting metal from corrosion /60/. The most widely used when cleaning metal surfaces from painting are washes, solvents and special pastes, Small parts- removable decorative elements, fittings, overhead parts - are treated in special baths with a solution of acids and alkalis, after which they are degreased in organic solvents. White spirit, chlorethylene, dichloroethane, and tetrachlorethylene are used as degreasers.
I.2.2. Compositions and technological modes for degreasing metals /60/, g/l
Degreasing is carried out at a temperature of 60-70 °C for 5 to 20 minutes.
Copper and its alloys: Trisodium phosphate - 20
Soda ash - 5
Emulsifier type "News",
"Lotus" - 5
Degreasing is carried out at a temperature of 60-70°C for 5 to 20 minutes.
Zinc and its alloys: Soda ash - 15-20
Trisodium phosphate - 5-10
Sodium silicate - 5-10
PAZ - 0.6-1.0
Surfactants - surfactants such as “Vepos”, “Lotos”, “Progress”, etc.; degreasing is carried out at a temperature of 60-70°C for 5 to 15 minutes.
Aluminum and its alloys: Soda ash - 10-15
Trisodium phosphate - 5-10
Sodium silicate - 3-4
Emulsifier (syntanol DS-10, sulfanol, OP-7,
Degreasing is carried out at a temperature of 60-70°C for 3-5 minutes.
Degreasing is carried out at a temperature of 60-70°C for 5-20 minutes. Degreasing of old gilding and paintings should be carried out only on the recommendations of special laboratories involved in the restoration of monuments.
Compositions of pickling pastes for ferrous metals /60, p.7/
Etching paste (for rust removal), %
Inhibitor (PB-5, catapin, etc.) 0.5
Oil contact 0.5
Sulfuric acid (specific gravity 1.84) 7.7
Phosphoric acid (specific gravity 1.70) 2.4
Hydrochloric acid (specific gravity 1.19) 21.3
Cellulose sulfite liquor 14.6
Tripol (ciliate earth) 36.0
After applying the paste, leave for 1-3 hours, then rinse and passivate.
Passivating paste(after rust removal), %
Caustic soda 0.9
Sodium or potassium dichromate 2.3
Cellulose sulfite liquor 9.6
Ciliate earth (tripod) 36.0
After processing, rinse and dry.
The holding time with the applied paste is 0.5-1.0 hours.
Pickling in alkalis and acids of removable parts made of ferrous and non-ferrous metals is carried out in enameled and porcelain baths (containers). The composition of the etching solution is given in Table 1.
Table 1
Composition of the etching solution /60/
| Metal | Solution-composition | Concentration, g/l | Processing mode |
|
| temperature, °C | duration, min |
|||
| Black | Hydrochloric acid (specific gravity 1.19) | 110±15 | 50-70 | 10-30 |
| Sulfuric acid(specific weight 1.84) | 35±5 | |||
| Catapin inhibitor | ||||
| Black | Sulfuric acid (specific gravity 1.84) | 110±10 | 18-20 | 5-15 |
| Inhibitor – formalin | 1-3 | |||
Note: etching can be done with a solution of caustic soda (NaOH) at a concentration of 240 g per 1 liter of solution at 93-95°C for 5 to 15 minutes.
When restoring ferrous metal roofing, as well as for processing strip metal and cast iron after pickling and cleaning before painting, we can recommend the BA-0112 primer-converter to remove rust up to 100 microns thick. This primer can be applied to a surface covered with thin, dense scale in one layer. It will also act as a protective coating at the same time. The thickness of the rust and the uniformity of the soil coating can be determined using the ITP-1 thickness gauge (coating thickness meter). The measurement is based on the dependence of the force of attraction of a permanent magnet on the metal on the thickness of the coating. By rotating the retractable part of the device, its spring is stretched until the magnet separates from the metal.
The instrument readings are calibrated according to the thickness of the coating /14, p.44/.
Characteristics of work. Restoration and conservation of artistic and decorative items made of porcelain, glass, ceramics, plastic, majolica, metal and other materials under the guidance of a highly qualified restorer of artistic and decorative items. Selection of parts of art products and preparation of surfaces for gluing. Cleaning the gluing seams. Preparation of paints according to given recipes. Toning and painting of artistic products with minor shading and fine-tuning. Attaching individual parts or assemblies of dolls and other toys using hinges, rubber bands, and hooks. Selection and preparation of parts for installation.
Must know: technology for gluing art products and decorative items; properties of glued materials; techniques for performing simple operations of gluing and painting artistic products; recipe for the preparation of glue and paints used; operating principles and rules for using serviced equipment, devices and tools; toy device; etching methods and rules for removing streaks from mirrors.
Work examples
1. Mustard pots, lids, ashtrays, glasses, salt shakers - gluing.
2. Mirrors rectangular shape- etching of protective coatings of silver film, removing streaks of red lead varnish and silver from the front side.
§ 42. Restorer of artistic products and decorative objects of the 3rd category
Characteristics of work. Restoration and conservation of artistic and decorative objects of simple configuration made of porcelain, glass, ceramics, plastic, majolica, metal and other materials. Gluing products and objects from a small number of fragments and having an even fracture, with cleaning of glue exits, filling of small losses and chips at the seams, followed by tinting. Preparation of mastic according to a given recipe. Selection of colors. Tinting of products in gluing areas using up to three tones. Cleaning from dirt and corrosion products. Removal of easily removable stains, old restoration finishing touches, glue, records with metal brushes, scalpels, sandpaper, detergents and compresses with solvents. Degreasing of metals. Replenishment of minor losses, chips, cracks, potholes with finishing compounds. Sanding, polishing, tinting finishing touches without reproducing the design. Making molds from plaster, wax and plasticine. Forming parts into molds. Primary firing. Temperature monitoring. Preparation of putties and masses, cutting blanks for recreating products and objects. Rough processing after casting when recreating lost cast metal parts.
Must know: types and properties of basic materials; mastic recipe; techniques to ensure a strong and even seam; techniques for coating products and objects with paints; arrangement of serviced equipment, devices and tools; arrangement of winding mechanisms for toys; techniques for flashing and removing unstable contaminants; technology for sealing cracks, seams and chips.
Work examples
1. Vases, souvenirs, plates, cups - gluing with seam sealing.
2. Spherical and shaped mirrors - etching the protective coatings of the silver film, removing streaks of varnish, red lead, and silver from the front side.
3. Toys - gluing with strengthening sound mechanisms.
4. Various products and objects - sealing potholes, holes, cracks with an area of less than 1 cm2.
5. Crystal objects - dismantling.
6. Figurines without carefully worked out anatomical forms - gluing with sealing of seams.
7. Glass exhibits - gluing.
§ 43. Restorer of artistic products and decorative objects of the 4th category
Characteristics of work. Restoration and conservation of simple and medium complexity artistic products and decorative objects, broken into parts, connected in one or more units, having a complex, uneven fracture, made of porcelain, earthenware, glass, crystal, majolica, metal and other similar materials. Selection of glue. Selection of paints and varnishes for tinting restored products and tinting in places of gluing with the application of three to five tones. Repeated and uniform application of varnish to the surface of products. Removing stubborn dirt and marks from the surface using active detergents, electrolytic and electromechanical methods. Reconstruction of lost fragments of glass products with rectilinear outlines using the method of pressing and manual grinding. Cutting glass according to a template. Removal and production of two-piece molds. Preparation of gesso, putties and finishing compounds according to the recipe. Imitation of engraved pattern and relief. Mounting finishing touches on products made of ferrous and non-ferrous metal using soldering, riveting, and forge welding.
Must know: technology and methods of restoration of products; basic technical properties and characteristics of materials used in the restoration of products; sequence of restoration of artistic painting; techniques for complex coating of products with various paints; technology for varnishing products and removing stubborn stains; methods of mounting and gluing sculpture and decor; methods for restoring losses using analogues; properties of natural and artificial pigments, dyes and their mixtures; stylistic features of applied art made of metals.
Work examples
1. Vases, coffee pots, bread bowls with relief, figurines with carefully detailed anatomical forms, teapots - gluing.
2. Toys - gluing with strengthening sound mechanisms.
3. Various products - sealing holes, cracks, potholes with an area of 1 cm2 or more.
4. Chandeliers, sconces, others lighting- installation of fragments.
5. Shot glasses, wine glasses, glasses made of hand-cut crystal, Venetian glass - gluing.
6. Thin-walled openwork objects - gluing with filling of potholes.
7. Multi-figure figurines - gluing.
§ 44. Restorer of artistic and decorative objects, 5th category
Characteristics of work. Restoration of complex artistic and antique products and decorative objects from porcelain, earthenware, ceramics, crystal, glass, metal and other materials with the restoration of missing parts based on samples, drawings and fragments. Preparation of compositions necessary for the manufacture of restored parts. Tinting painting on products using more than five tones. Restoration of fine openwork engraving and embossing. Toning when reproducing multi-color painting, imitation glaze. Straightening of deformed metal parts, embossing of designs that have lost their relief, inlay. Reconstruction of significant losses using surviving details, drawings, sketches, photographs and other documents. Finishing of fragments in the product material and various finishing masses with the production of molds, models and casting of parts. Sanding, polishing, tinting and other finishing works. Cutting thick glass and inserting a picture into the frame. Removal of hard-to-remove deposits and restoration records using a special selection of detergents and chemical reagents. Restoration of significant losses of products and objects with selection of materials according to structure and color.
Must know: techniques for restoring products and objects; techniques for tinting artistic painting; physical and chemical properties of materials used in the restoration of products; recipes for enamels and varnishes, finishing compounds; requirements for the quality of glue and paints; engraving and embossing techniques; basic techniques for working with enamel; technology for strengthening heavily damaged works; methods of installation and fastening of artistic products from various materials.
Work examples
1. Vases, plates, cups and other household items - restoration of missing parts.
2. Stained glass - mounting.
3. Various products - tinted marble, bone, mother-of-pearl with restoration of artistic design.
4. Tiles - restoration of missing parts.
5. Three-dimensional exhibits - gluing using templates.
§ 45. Restorer of artistic and decorative objects, 6th category
Characteristics of work. Restoration and conservation of particularly complex artistic, antique, archaeological, unique decorative products and decorative objects made of porcelain, earthenware, marble, crystal, glass, ceramics, majolica and other materials. Reproduction of products based on samples or analogues, preliminary restoration projects. Recreation of relief and texture in places of gluing, or embedding, in places that require recreation of the pattern. Cutting, sharpening and inserting patterned, wavy, tempered glass into a design frame. Engraving complex designs on crystal. Polishing the recreated parts. Correction of deformations on objects with metal extraction, with locking dents, with further correction of the design. Recreation on the surface of products of individual details or individual parts of species, portrait drawings and sculptural processing. Restoration of the finest engraving. Restoration and conservation in miniature. Removal of iridescence and salt crystallization products. Gluing and fastening on pins, frames of fragments. Removing and making molds from unique fragments. Toning and painting restoration. Preparation of enamel with selection of colors from preserved fragments.
Must know: porcelain and earthenware brands different countries and eras; basic technology for the production of porcelain and earthenware products; types and properties of materials used in the restoration of products; techniques and methods for processing products; basics of color science and drawing composition; laws of shadow construction; techniques of highly artistic painting on ceramic products; engraving techniques; history of sculpture and plastic arts; stylistic features of sculpture and decoration of various eras and schools; specifics of restoration of antique, archaeological, unique products and objects.
Work examples
1. Bas-reliefs, high reliefs, ornaments - recreation.
2. Figurines of people in clothes with deep folds in dynamic poses, with characteristic and carefully detailed face shapes - recreation.
3. Multi-figure figurines with compositional structures - recreation.
Along with the widespread use of decorative wood carvings for decoration antique furniture metal was often used. These parts were manufactured in the form of front and fastening fittings, and applied decorative elements. The background for them has always been the veneered surface of artistic furniture.
Metal parts are thin applied strips of brass, gilded, bronze overlays and inserts, slotted and embossed ribbons, ribbons made of non-ferrous metal with ornaments of various curls, spirals and plant motifs. In addition, to decorate expensive wooden and veneered furniture in the past, bronze cast parts and sculpture with decorative finishing in gold, less often in silver, were often used.
Decorative finishing of artistic metal products differs significantly from finishing of other materials and includes a number complex processes. Therefore, when making up for such losses, knowledge is required ancient technology and techniques for decorative metal finishing. This can be challenging for a wood restorer. Moreover, if the lost metal decorations belong to unique furniture monuments and are of great value, in this case, by decision of the Restoration Council, they are replenished by metal restorers.
All metal parts that do not require the intervention of metal restorers are carefully removed from the wooden or veneered surface. With them, all restoration operations can be performed by a wood restorer.
The most common damage and defects to decorative applied metal jewelry are peeling off from wooden base, severe surface contamination, cracks, abrasions of surface finishing, deformation from mechanical shocks, corrosion and partial losses.
Restoration of metal elements with similar damage begins with those that weakly adhere to the surface of the furniture. They are removed and removed old glue, deformed flat parts are straightened with a straightening hammer and, if necessary, the strips are additionally aligned in a press between two steel plates.
Removal of surface contamination of gold-plated elements made of brass and bronze is carried out with a hard bristle brush and a hot solution of water and “baby” soap. Then they are washed clean warm water, carefully wipe with a dry soft cloth and finally dry with a swab slightly moistened ethyl alcohol. Contaminants can be removed with a solution ammonia(can be mixed with a small amount bee honey). The old protective varnish layer of bronze cast parts is removed with alcohol solvents in the same way as surface contamination flat elements made of brass.
Corrosive deposits can be of two types. The first is in the form of a noble patina, which is a thin film of various colors and shades (from green to brown), formed on bronze (copper alloys) under the influence of a favorable air environment for storing furniture. The same patina can be formed as a result of deliberate exposure of the metal surface to special reagents. A noble patina forms a protective oxide film that protects the metal from further damage. This thinnest film does not interfere with the perception of the smallest elements of the part and its relief shapes. However, this type of patina is rare. The second type is “wild” patina, which differs from noble patina in more loose corrosion layers. Wild patina is formed in unfavorable conditions storage It not only does not protect the metal surface from destruction, but, on the contrary, activates it. This layering, of course, must be removed. Such deposits are removed using solutions of caustic soda, ammonia, formic acid, ammonium carbonate and other products containing fine abrasive materials. You can also use mechanical cleaning with a scalpel, sharp knife, or brass brush.
Mechanical damage to cast parts in the form of scratches, holes, cracks is eliminated with metal alloys, followed by decorative finishing of the restored surface.
Special attention should be paid to the restoration of Jacob style furniture (photo 1) with applied decorative brass strips (broaches). In the book “Essays on the history of artistic furniture of the 15th-19th centuries,” T. Sokolova notes that we owe the wide distribution of chairs and armchairs of rectilinear shapes made of mahogany with brass rods, which is sometimes called “smooth brass,” to the French furniture maker Georges Jacob and his sons.
Later they were called “Jacob style furniture”. This indicates the wide popularity of the master. Distinctive feature Jacob furniture is availability decorative motif cube with a carved rosette at the place where the leg is attached. Other furniture craftsmen it was often copied and forged, so it is currently difficult to identify original copies of Georges Jacob.
Photo 1. Chair Jacob
It can be assumed with a high degree of probability that furniture made in the Jacob style filled the palaces and mansions of St. Petersburg. Currently, examples of such furniture are in the collection of the Pavlovsk Palace Museum and in the collection of the Russian Museum.
Restoration of Jacobean furniture with elements made of “smooth brass”, made in the form of decorative metal broaches, presents significant difficulties for the furniture restorer. These difficulties lie in high-quality replacement of losses in decorative broaches made of brass with a certain zinc content, which ensures the required color of the metal. In addition, the difficulty lies in reproducing the desired profile and maintaining dimensions.
Restoration of strips that have been preserved, but damaged by hard contacts and impacts with hard objects, as well as strips that have peeled off from the wooden base, is carried out using the methods described above.
To make a lost decorative strip from brass, the restorer must have a device with dies that match the desired profile. For filleting, two identical solid steel blanks are prepared. Then they are given the required adjacent profile on metalworking machines and secured with bolts at the workplace. The brass strips are pulled through the manufactured die using a winch. As a rule, at least three cold broaches are done to avoid changes in the straightness and thickness of the metal. With each subsequent pull, the parts of the die are gradually brought together. The last broach is carried out to the thickness of the metal. The manufactured profiled strips are ground, polished with special pastes and, if necessary, decorative finishing(tinting, patination), cover protective equipment. Brass broaches (photo 2) are enough High Quality can be made using rollers (photo 3).
Photo 2. Brass broaches
Photo 3. Rollers for the production of metal broaches: 1) dies with a replaceable profile; 2) blanks for making dies with the desired profile; 3) options for samples of manufactured broaches
The rollers are installed at the workplace, and the strip manufacturing process is similar to that described above. The dies also consist of two round adjacent profile parts made of steel of increased hardness, made from blanks pre-turned on a lathe. These parts are installed in the rollers in such a way that they can be brought together smoothly and little by little using a gear drive. In addition, rollers with the help of cylindrical parts made of hard steel (see photo 3, part a) allow the production of broaches from soft bronze wire. The brass strips are drawn using a handle, also in several stages, and with each drawing, parts of the die are reduced to the thickness of the metal.
After completing the metal work, if the wooden profile for broaching is lost on the furniture, it is restored from solid wood.
To press in the restored broaches, wooden tsulags are made from solid hardwood with a given profile.
Before installation, the edges of the metal broaches are processed and given the desired appearance. Then glue it with thick wood glue to the base (thin wood profile) and clamped with clamps through placed tsulags. In this case, the glue fills the voids between the profile and the broach, giving the surface of the losses increased hardness. After the glue has dried, the clamping clamps are removed, and the exposed glue is removed with a damp swab. Next, the finished broaches are glued with sturgeon glue at the place of loss with reliable fixation.
Metal broaches made using rollers that do not have a wooden base, depending on the specific case, can first be glued onto strips of birch veneer, and the edges bent (rolled), as shown in photo 2. The glued strip of veneer eliminates breaks in the brass strip when installed on curved places, such as on the armrest of a chair. The broaches prepared in this way are installed in place using good wood glue in the usual way.
If the metal parts of the furniture being restored are preserved and only the glue seam is broken, then the defective area is cleaned of old glue, the contacting surfaces are sealed and glued again. After removing the clamping devices, the protruding adhesive is removed.
