Kovács Petronella (szerk.): Isis - Erdélyi magyar restaurátor füzetek 4. (Székelyudvarhely, 2004)
Mester Éva: A Kárpát-medence üvegfesztészete. II. Az üvegfestmények és díszműüvegezések jellemző károsodásai
From the respect of the preservation of the historical value, reversibility and the theory of recognisablity are basic aspects: the application of the analytical scientific methods helps to the latter one. The variability of completion is illustrated by the examples, most of which are borrowed from the archive documentation collection of the Restorer Training Institute of the University of Fine Arts of Hungary. The paper discusses the difference between the concept of retouching and reconstruction, which can theoretically be distinguished, although the boundary between them is often vague in practice. Many methods of completion have been developed (integrated, distinguishing, neutral, etc.). The paper tries to help orientation among them with the help of illustrations. The author cites her own work as a final, instructive example: she describes the problems and the solutions that emerged in relation to the completion of the panel painting of the “The adoration of the Kings” on the high altar of the one-time Liptószentmária. In summary we can establish that historical recognition cannot replace the loss of the artistic value in the restoration of paintings. The specific characteristics of the objects of art determine the method and degree of completion, but the works must be examined and treated in their whole complexity. Katalin Görbe Professor Hungarian University of Fine Arts Judit B. PERJÉS - Petronella KOVÁCS Restoration of ornamented, leather-covered Transylvanian chests The authors recently restored two chests preserved in the Tarisznyás Márton Museum in Gyergyószentmiklós. The chests are covered with leather and one of them ornamented with copper the other with iron mounts. Beside restoration, the authors studied the technology, the function, the origin and the owners of the chests. They collected and systemised the data of similar chests preserved in Hungarian museums, and publish two more items from Transylvania, which are in the property of a private person and the Armenian church. All the studied chests came from Transylvania, many of them from territories where a larger mass of Armenian population settled in the 17th - 18l11 centuries. It is not yet decided if the owners were people who travelled a lot or Armenian tradesmen, whose travelling kit included the travelling or coach chests, often decorated with iron or copper mounts. Another problem to be decided is if the leather-covered, finely decorated chests were primarily bridal or hope chests or travelling chests, perhaps similar items were prepared for both purposes. The study describes the technology of leather-covered trunks, which became common in Germany in the 18th century probably after Dutch antecedents, after J. G. Krünitz’s „Oekonomisch-technologischen Encyklopädie” published in the 1790’s. The production of these trunks needed the collaboration of a group of craftsmen. It is known from the literature that the tanners and the locksmiths of Gyergyószentmiklós were active in more than one craft. Consequently, the authors think it is possible that not specialised craftsmen prepared the Transylvanian chests they restored. The blacksmith or the locksmith could buy the tanned leather from the tanner and, switching over to the joiner’s job, prepared the simple wooden case as it was ordered, then nailed on it the ornaments that had been cut out in advance together with the leather. The authors mechanically cleaned the metal applications during the restoration of the chests from Gyergyószentmiklós, than treated the strongly corroded iron mounts with a rust solvent and passivating agent of phosphorous acid content. The dry cleaning of the leather cover was executed with vinyl eraser and vacuum cleaning, and various types of liquors (cleaning emulsions) were used for wet cleaning. In the case of the chest with iron mounts, the leather cover, which had hardened and become brittle because of the iron mounts, had to be softened. To prevent further injuries, the fragmented and torn handles, which protected against dust, were completed with goatskin but the handle that was missing from the front of the lid of the iron-mounted case was not reconstructed. Finally the leather cover was treated with Maroquin skin vaseline (an acid-free, colourless mineral fat, which protects from the environmental effects) and a protective coating of a 5 % solution of Paraloid B72 dissolved in 1:1 mixture of acetone and toluol was applied on the metal mounts. The smaller cracks and fractures of the wooden material were glued with poly(vinyl-acetate)-based aqueous dispersion. The textile lining of the chests was cleaned with an aqueous emulsion and an emulsion of an organic solvent after mild vacuum cleaning. The missing parts of the lining were completed with a simple cloth dyed to a colour similar to the background colour of the mottled fabric. The completions were cut larger than necessary so that they could reinforce the weakened lining around the holes. They used starch to fix the textile lining back to the wood. Judit B. Perjés Object, metal and goldsmiths restorer MA Historical Museum of Budapest Petronella Kovács Wood and furniture restorer MA Head of faculty of object conservation Hungarian University of Fine Arts Head of department of conservation training and research Hungarian National Museum 91
