Recent Conservation Pieces
17th Century, Charles II Silk & Needlework Embroidery
This 17th Century, Charles II, Silk and Needlework Embroidery, recently acquired at the Robert Kime sale, came in for conservation, and reframing. It is a rare survivor of a bygone age, tent stitched in coloured silks and with metal purl, depicting a seated female figure beneath a pear tree, the spandrels with tulip, sunflower, and with parrot, butterfly, snail and flowers and laid down on board, 36 x 47 cm.
Our extremely talented textile conservator, and seamstress, Maria Londono, steam cleaned it with great care as the piece is so fragile, and tenderly repaired it, where possible. An outer soft green boarder was sourced by her to match the remnants of the original. This was stitched in place, and the existing panel, overlaid on a larger silk acid free foam board to enable the embroidery to breath (visually).
A delicate golden silk was also sourced to complement this exquisite piece, like a sumptuous passe-partout on a much-treasured watercolour.
A white gold leaf and gesso, 17th century style carved bolection frame, with woven basket weave decoration was then made (with five coats of gesso, three of terracotta bole, white gold, washes of terracotta and wax, polished to a sheen) to house the work of art, presenting it in a deeply recessed box style frame and mounting, roughly 20 x 24 inches.
It is so rewarding to see how it looks now after a few weeks of tender conservation and meticulous re-framing, the white gold finish picking up the metal purl in the embroidery and making it sing for joy!!!
Silk and Needlework Embroidery
17th Century / Charles II
36 x 47 cm (14 x 18.5 in) laid down on board
50.8 x 60.9 cm (20 x 24 in) Framed
Hendrick de Meyer (1620 - 1689) - The Fishmarket at Scheveningen
BEFORE/DURING/AFTER ✨ details below:
This impressive Dutch Golden Age Baltic oak panelled painting by Hendrick de Meyer (1620 - 1689), of the traditional Fish market on the beach at Scheveningen, just outside The Hague, arrived in our studio earlier this year. It had been bought many years back and neglected, and was dangerously loose in the frame.
🛠HOW WE HELPED 🖌We spent months attending to it, removing the staggeringly amateur retouching of old and bringing the painting back to life. Much of the dark foreground had been brutally over cleaned and the dogs were all but obliterated, along with much of the intricate detail. We found pentimenti (hidden preparatory drawings) beneath past retouching and have left much of it in place so that future connoisseurs might witness the artist's original vision for the composition.
FRAMEWORK 🔧The cassetta designed frame was cleaned and conserved. We laid fresh maple veneer within the centre of the moulding, waxed with Antique Pine and Teak and inserted a 'lambs' tongue' shaped inner slip to embrace the panel more firmly within the frame and added gesso, bole and 22 carat gold leaf. The transformation was our reward!
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873) Portrait of a Young Girl
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873) was one of the most significant 19th-century portrait painters across Europe. German by birth, he was THE artist European royalty and aristocracy trusted to catch an unparalleled likeness, glamour and elegance. His style was characterized by meticulous attention to detail and a polished, elegant portrayal of his subjects. Winterhalter could be relied on to capture the opulence and grandeur of the 19th-century European courts. Notable works include portraits of Empress Elisabeth of Austria and Queen Victoria, whom he portrayed over many decades. His artistry contributed to the romanticized image of European nobility during his time.
This ravishing portrait of a most distinguished Polish aristocrat was the only piece to survive from a looted palace during the second world war. It was recovered by the family in the 1950’s, thanks to the exceptional foresight and courage of a loyal guardian who had worked for the family and who secreted it away under her bed in an old box, for many years, in the hope that the family would return to claim it.
It was brought to England, furled up, and placed on a temporary stretcher, with a brutal duck egg cotton lining, being all that was available at the time. The family so generously brought the painting to us to conserve, due to the extremely unstable pigment, caused by the thick, crude backing/ lining - and years of been furled.
Upon removing the heavy duck egg cotton from the back we lined the work on fine linen, using the BEVA technique, thus regaining the original delicacy of the work and eliminating the plank-like heaviness it had before.
The stretcher, deemed serviceable and relatively non-intrusive, was left so as not to incur any additional, unnecessary expense.
All the historic retouching was then removed, and any necessary retouching was executed with utmost restraint, delicacy, and a deep appreciation for the beauty of the portrait we had been entrusted with.
Working on a piece of such understated, unparalleled distinction was a true privilege.
Grand Manner Portrait
BEFORE & AFTER
Here is the next in our exciting series of conserved portraits and frames:
This handsome portrait has returned to the family after a generation or two, much to their excitement. We were invited to conserve it prior to her returning home and this involved removing many layers of unnecessary over-paint. Once that was all gone the exquisite quality of the sitter's dress was revealed in all its majesty. It was an honour to work on such a glorious Grand Manner portrait and to attend to the beautiful frame.
🌟 BEFORE & AFTER ✨
Pieter Verelst (1616/18 – 1678) Portrait
This exquisite Pieter Verelst (1616/18 – 1678) portrait came to us for conservation from one of the most significant private collections in this country.
It needed to be given a very gentle clean to remove decades of engrained dirt and a much-darkened varnish. As a work on Baltic oak panel, it was in truly remarkable condition, largely owing to the quality of the artist's work and that of his panel maker. The French Louis XIVth carved and gilded frame, was very much the fashion of the time. As the great French king was one of the movers and shakers of the western world, and Dutch old masters were regularly framed in this style to fit in with the Parisienne style.
This is a very fine example of the period being beautifully carved and gilded, however, I prefer to see paintings of this quality and period framed in their Dutch 'livery', in fine wide ripple mouldings made from ebony or amboyna that set them off and place them within the context of their roots – the magnificent Dutch Golden Age.
Gascon Stone Coat of Arms
Before & After
This exceptional stone coat of arms was brought to us for conservation from a Crusader castle in Gascony. It had been found under the floor boards and the clients were overjoyed!
It had, in fact, been restored before with over zealous, much yellowed, glue. We removed this and repaired the stone, cleaning, stabilising and improving the colour. Finally we added sections to balance the piece and improved the lower cill so that it can now sit, without support, on its base, and it will shortly be returned to its original home.
17th century Angus Dei door
Before & After
We wanted to make something incredibly sensitive and deferential so that the beauty of this exquisite carved and gilded door shone through whilst at last being returned to use. Much of the carving of the Lamb of God had broken away over the centuries and this we replicated, carving the missing sections before adding gesso, and regilding it throughout on a terracotta bole base.
We then constructed the 'cabinet', replicating the contour of the tabernacle door, adding the same style of beading and we felt a soft terracotta / pink wash would be the most appropriate colouring to enable the original carving to shine once more in all its glory!