This bust suffers from several dings and a detached section on the back at the area of the child’s bow. While there is dirt particulates across the surface, the strong discoloration is likely a product of the type of stone used which is alabaster.

The bust will be carefully cleaned and the detached part of the bow will be reattached. There is a wonderful display of delicate sculptor-work along the child’s blouse with an intricate design on the clothing, and the cleaning is helping to bring this out. The craftsmanship of the work continues to the bonnet and how it renders a realistic weight to the fabric.

Stay tuned for more…

After some research we believe this to be an 18th century diorama from Macau, depicting the Lunar New Year. There is a considerable amount of dirt particulates over the shadow box and the diorama. Several of the people, houses, fencing, and other objects in the diorama have become detached due to a failed adhesive. Some pieces have completely fallen off and present a sort of jigsaw problem to figure out where they belong. The shadow box is comprised of wood that is dry and has lost its strength, and the top end that keeps the glass in place has degraded and is no longer stable. Early cleaning has had a big impact in part due to the age of the artwork and the amount of texture for the particulates to cling to. Stay tuned for more…

This project came in as a damaged copper mount, that had been used to showcase a tile panel, and replacement tiles from the same manufacturer as the original tiles. As you can see in the photographs, the panel suffered significant warping along one of the edges. Straightening it out was outsourced to a metal specialist. Only after that was it realized that the new tile panel has a slightly larger dimension and would not fit. A new copper panel was made to the correct specifications and the new tiles were put into place with a restorer’s adhesive. The original copper mount had a substantial bracket that allows it to securely attach to a  wall. This was transferred to the new copper mount.

The tiles are from Sant’ Anna in Lisbon, Portugal, established in 1741.

This eagle sculpture has quite the lore. Originally, it’s believed that it was going to be installed in a first class smoking room of the HMHS Britannic, a sister ship of the Olympic and the Titanic. However, the HMHS Britannic was refitted as a hospital ship for WWI and the sculpture ended up in a pub known was as the”Britannic Room.” Unfortunately, the HMHS Britannic was sunk in 1916 after reportedly hitting a mine. We don’t know for certain if the sculpture was ever installed on the HMHS Britannic: the ship was laid down in 1911 and launched in 1914 and completed in 1915.

The legend continues that in 2015 or so, the “Britannic Room,” was demolished; it was part of a hotel. And a worker with a keen eye pulled the sculpture from a dumpster. We have one photograph displaying the eagle intact–it is an old, low-resolution photograph without the eagle as the focal point, but our research is ongoing and we hope to find more clues.

We are in the process of putting together this “jigsaw puzzle,” and with further research we hope to find some evidence as for the exact composition whereby we’ll recreate the missing pieces, re-attach all parts, and then apply finishing colors to marry all of the sections together.

Only last year, the site of the sunk Britannic was opened up for divers. Daily Mail Article.

Stay tuned for more…