Műtárgyvédelem, 2005 (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum)
Összefoglalók
clothing was sometimes applied to religious statues to make a naif or unattractive object more interesting or to cover up it having become damaged or its paint having come off. Returning to the statue the thin coat of white-based paint was badly peeling, and to aid safe movement of the statue its surface was stuck down with the help of injected rabbit-skin glue, Japanese vellum and CMC. After the subsequent removal of the vellum the object was cleaned with ethanol, and then treated with Paraloid B72 5% nitro-thinning solution. Holes in the painted surfaces were filled with glutinous chalk, then given an undercoat of aquerelle followed by a top coat painted with oils. During restoration work it was discovered that a number of items of clothing appertaining to the statue were still extant; the painted right forearm also came to light. This latter required three new finger ends, and these were fashioned in plastic and painted to match the rest of the figure. The clothing consisted of three chemises in very poor condition: besides significant tears and holes they had suffered damage through insect infestation, mildew and general disintegration. Once the chemises had been restored it was necessary to reconstruct the missing left forearm. From observations made and research carried out during this work the restorers came to the conclusion that the statue dated from the eighteenth century and would probably originally have been revered as a devotional statue. Possibilities of restoring glass back paintings Borbála Országh The feature of this type of painted glass is that works of art are painted on to the back of a single sheet of glass using paints without annealing. These extraordinary works of art were popular across Europe, and there is tremendous diversity in the materials used in different countries over the ages. Thanks to Hungary’s multi-ethnic history, its collections today see examples of secular work from some of the finest Western European centres rubbing shoulders with specimens of Eastern European sacred devotional folk art. The aim in writing on this subject is to draw attention to some of the problems that can be encountered when restoring this type of painted glass. When cleaning the casing of any painted glass, or when gluing together a damaged picture, from a silicate restorer’s experience I suggest only those cleaning and gluing processes be used that cannot cause damage to the top layer of paint. The tension that can develop between the rigid casing and the more elastic layer of paint in most cases leads to break-up and peeling of the paint. And since glue which is applied between the glass and the paint remains visible, several European institutions and restorers have experimented with a consolidating process as a solution to this particular problem. Solvent based glues, water based glues, waxes and wax resins with various binding agents are all suitable for fixing layers of paint back to the glass. In each case a thorough examination 201
