Restoration by [ Ссылка ], of a parcel gilt 19th century small bronze figurine sculpture with marble base by D. Simon.
She arrived at our studio bent over at her ankle, with gouges all over her body, her parcel-gilt surface damaged, and her stone base fractured-just a few of the many challenges we confront in restoring small objects made of mixed materials with unusual surfaces.
Cast bronze is crystalline. When it is bent, the tiny crystals protrude in little lumps. Our challenge was to move the dancer’s leg back into its original position without ripping apart the crystals, then to gently push the crystals back into pace at the surface.
We filled gouges in her body with rods made of a copper alloy similar to that of which the case is made. On small scale precious objects, our work is similar to a dentist’s. We corrected her parcel-gilt surface composed of a thin layer of gold on the cast bronze. Across her back, packing material and humidity created a pattern. Starting with fine abrasives, we blended the discolorations with the nearby areas.
We filled the gaps of her shattered stone base with a resin colored to match the stone.
