Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 17. (Budapest, 1998)

Andrea VÁRFALVI - Tamás Károly PELLER: The Restoration of a 17th Century' Hungarian Saddle

The silver-gilt rings and handles were also cleaned with Argentol, after mechanical damage had been put right. In order to guard against new corrosion later, the precious metal parts were treated with a 3 per cent solution of Paraloid B 72.

15 Because the wrought-iron handles broke during dismantling on account of their heavily corroded state, new ones were made using the same technique. The originals were conserved by means of a protective coating of iron phosphate and Paraloid B 72 and were put together with the art work. In order for the saddle to be reconstructed in a proper way, the tongue of the strap-buckle had to be replaced. Its length was exactly determined by the width of the buckle and its thickness by the holes in the strap. Its material agreed with that of the other parts of the buckle: it, too, was made of wrought iron. After the dry cleaning of the dismantled, incomplete wooden elements, the infected part was treated with Preventol CMK. The supplementation of the parts that had broken off and the replacement of those which were missing was performed with limewood and glue made from skin (111. 9). The saddle-boards and the pommels were assembled using steel screws. This lastmentioned procedure differed from the original; however, the wooden parts to be assembled had warped, thus preventing effective gluing. The subsequent wetting of the parchment and its drying on the restored frame was another reason for assembling it in this way. (Shrinkage following drying could have led to the collapse of the weakened wooden frame, which could be avoided by loosening the screws. In this way the angles of the pommels could be chosen without bringing about a significant change in the appearance of the art work.) The steel screws did cause some physical damage to the art work, but smaller than the damage that would have resulted from cutting the surfaces in order to obtain exact fits. The stainless steel screws do not harm the object and can be removed at any time (111. 10). The weakened parchment covering basically determining the structure could after damp cleaning and the correction of the deformation of the croup-strap - be put back into shape in a humidifying chamber. Difficulty was caused by the need to keep the torn but not incomplete form together before it dried to the right shape, since on spatial objects only a continuous surface can be fixed without stretching. The gluing option had to be rejected, because the drying of the glue would have coincided with the drying of the material to be glued, which would have moved and stretched, thereby hindering the establishment of a firm bond. The sewing of the tears, on the other hand, meant that the parchment, mounted and pressed down onto the wooden frame, could assume what was presumably its original shape when it dried (111. 11). This approach represented another physical intervention on the art work - in the form of small needle marks. However, this was the only possible solution. (The thread can always be removed later.) The drying took place on an additional frame (Ills. 12 & 13). The fabrics stuffed with hair, fabrics consisting of embroidered velvet and patterned damask, were cleaned together using an organic solvent containing surfaceactive material and water.

16 (By means of disassembly into the component parts - by undoing the quilting stitch on the seat - we could have ensured that no soiling remained between the two layers of fabric. However, the crumpled hair would also needed to be cleaned and put back in its earlier place. The disadvantage of such an approach would have been the demise of the original overstitch.) A copy of the pattern made prior to cleaning, and a frame, assisted the drying to exactly the right size (111. 14). During the conservation of the stitching, weakened fabric was reinforced, missing velvet replaced and