Műtárgyvédelem, 2005 (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum)
Összefoglalók
of the object has to be carried out in order that the materials and techniques most appropriate for the type of conservation required can be chosen. For replacing missing pieces of the picture in a piece of painted glass there are several options. One possibility is to paint the missing piece on to a sheet of paper or foil, and then place this behind the painting. I encountered the use of adhesive tape applied to the rear of a piece of painted glass as a means of repairing breaks in it in the course of restoring Mojsej Popovic’s St. John the Baptist (c.1760, 28”x 20”, Serbian Ecclesiastical Museum, Szentendre, Inventory No. 426). This is a common modus operandi but because of movement of the paper it can tear the paint layer and cause serious damage to the article. The painted glass forms an organic whole with its frame and its protective paper and/or wooden backing, so it is very important for the protection of the picture as well as for aesthetic considerations that new, replacement pieces are adequately secured and preserved. In the longer term there are several factors a knowledge of which are important in the care and protection of painted glass pictures. These include controlled climate, storage, transportation, and exhibition. Restoration of a scagliola-topped table Mariann Antal A rare Italian scagliola-topped table dating from 1701 and belonging to the Museum of Applied Arts has undergone conservation and restoration as part of a diploma project. The table top would originally have been fixed into its wooden frame structure by moulding. It is formed from chippings and lime plaster, ranges in thickness from 3/4 to 11/2 inches (2-4 cm), and is supported by an iron wire armature. Its distinctive pattern would have been achieved first by applying a three to four-millimetre thick layer of black imitation marble, next applying to this a layer of white imitation marble of similar thickness, and then engraving into this and filling the resultant incisions with imitation marble paste. Finally a contemporary map of France would have been engraved into the white parts and the incisions filled in black. The different coloured surfaces would all have been burnished to a uniform plane, and polished up to a vitreous lustre. When complete, the supporting side laths used in the construction of the table would have been exchanged for carved and gilded decorative ones. Analysis of the materials used showed that the imitation marble paste contains gypsum (CaS04 • 2H20) and the surface filler an albumin binding agent. There were no traces of any surface-treating materials. The surface was cleaned with fatty alcohol sulphate foam, and disfiguring marks were bleached with hydrogen peroxide solution (H202). The broken pieces were restored to a good approximation of their original plane with the help of wooden wedges and clamps, and in this condition the restorer was able to stabilize the object by injecting Araldite 2020 low viscosity 202
