Prékopa Ágnes (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 31. (Budapest, 2017)

Veronika SZILÁGYI: Rebirth of the Gundel Centrepiece: Methodological Experiments in the Restoration of Enamelled Metalwork

8. Bottom of the central section before and after cleaning and preservation. Photos by Gellért Ament (left) and Gábor Nyíri (right)

solvent to remove the earlier, now cracked and discoloured painted supplements.

The layer of silver sulphide on the gilded silver surfaces was removed using Argen- tol.26 (Fig. 7) The sulphide and oxide residues were removed using a brass brush, which also gave the metal surface added sheen. The surfaces were neutralised using bicarbonate of soda dissolved in distilled water, which was rinsed off under running water. (Fig. 8) The enamelled pieces were cleaned with swabs dipped in acetone. (Fig. 9)

9. Removing earlier filled gaps of enamel. Photo by the author

The large size and complex structure of the artwork, together with the concomitant extended length of time required to complete the restoration process, meant that there was justification in applying preservative to every component immediately after cleaning.27 There was a risk that, by the time the cleaning was completed, the pieces that had been cleaned first would begin to darken again due to the sulphur and moisture in the air.

Replacement parts

The most challenging of all the steps in the process of restoring the Gundel Centrepiece was to make the replacement parts. This step is integrally connected to the experimentation involved in devising the new method of substituting the enamel decorations.

The missing decorations were made with 935 ppt silver alloy. Pure silver would not have been suitable due to the large amount of soldering involved, as the thinner components would have easily melted.

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