Kovács Petronella (szerk.): Isis - Erdélyi magyar restaurátor füzetek 13. (Székelyudvarhely, 2013)
Puskás Katalin: Kísérlet a vörösbomlásos bőr kezelésére, avagy epizód egy 19. századi fotótartó mappa restaurálásából
By applying the procedure to samples from five Transylvanian painted coffered ceilings and a gallery parapet all dating from 17th—18th century, it could be concluded that paint layers were put onto painted woodwork with animal glue mainly. No lipid or resinous materials were identified in the samples, which accorded well with the matte aspect of the painting. An interesting specific feature was revealed in connection with the binding media used by Umling the Elder, a famous painter and joiner of the region who seemed to prefer egg for some of his colours. Specific decay of a painted surface could not be related to a specific binding medium. However, it probably could be related to the amount of animal glue in the paint layer present. Two wall-painting samples were also analysed. The paint layer of the Renaissance prayer alcove in Siklós Castle (Hungary) contained gum arabic. In the bright and vivid blue layer on the exterior of the main church at Voroneţ Monastery in Bukovina (northern Romania) - the church dates from the 15lh century a considerable amount of protein was detected, identified by PCA as egg. Translated by Márta Guttman Levente Domokos - Éva Galambos - István Sajó Research Findings in Connection with the Restoration of an Inscribed Coffer in the Joint Unitarian- Calvinist (Hungarian Reformed) Church at Fiatfalva The restoration of an inscribed coffer in the church at Fiatfalva (today Filiaş, Romania) shared by the Unitarians and Calvinists took place as coursework for a master’s degree in the ‘Restoration of Painted Wood’. This course was provided within the Department of History, Art Object and Historical Monument Protection, and Protestant Theology belonging to the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Lucian Blaga University at Nagyszeben (today Sibiu, Romania). The restoration was directed by Prof. Dr. Livia Bucşa, head of the department, and Ferenc Mihály, a conservator. Investigation of the pigments and binders was performed at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts and at the Research Centre for Chemistry of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, by Éva Galambos, István Sajó, and Judith Mihály. We possess no written sources on the early history of the church at Fiatfalva. According to our researches, the present form and interior ordering of the church took shape in the wake of reconstruction operations conducted between 1802 and 1805 and between 1893 and 1897. However, in connection with the church’s detailed architectural history, and also with its furnishings, fittings, and changes affecting these, more researches are necessary. Data relating to the church appears comparatively late, during the last three centuries. Many authors have adopted the year in which the tower was built (1803) for the church as a whole, overlooking the fact that the church features on 18th-century maps made for the First Military Survey and also in a late 18lh-century property inventory published by Rudolf Adorjáni. On the basis of data in the church’s archive, we know that the chancel arch was demolished in the late 18lh century or early 19th centuiy (presumably before the building of the tower in 1803). In all probability, it was after the demolition of the chancel arch and after the building of the tower in 1803 that the church’s coffered ceiling, which was mentioned in 1784 already, was taken down and a new one made. A number of coffers from this new ceiling (among them three with inscriptions) were incorporated following building operations conducted in 1894. According to the church’s records, decisions which would radically alter the interior of the church were taken from 1892 on. In the course of the building operations conducted in 1894, the height of the church’s ceiling was raised by approximately 1 m and the height of its walls by approximately 2 m. It was at this time - using some elements of the 1804 coffered ceiling (albeit without attention to the original positioning of the coffers) - that another ceiling was made and the sizes of the doors and windows increased. It was probably then that the ceiling acquired its first layer of oil paint. Below the oil paint applied to the ceiling were three inscribed coffers bearing data of exceptional value in connection with the architectural history of the church. Of the three inscribed coffers, only the one recording the name of the painter-joiner who made it had text that could be read with the naked eye, albeit in parts merely. On one of the other two inscribed coffers there was writing that could be seen with the naked eye, without the use of technical means, although this writing could not be read. Only during later computer work with the digital photographs could we discover the existence of the writing on the third coffer. During the putting together of the restoration documentation, following studies of the specialist literature, local history, and archival material, more thorough research took place only after stratigraphic investigations targeting the number and composition of the paint layers. These were performed in parallel with the on-site research involving instruments and photography. Opportunities for additional investigations arose when the coffering was dismantled. As a consequence of this, surfaces became visible under the skirting which had never been painted over. The tell-tale stains and surfaces nestling in areas that had been protected served as important points of reference concerning the original condition of the coffered ceiling, and represented a good starting point for the subsequent restoration or conservation operations. The preparatory work provided data not only for the putting together of a complete restoration plan for the church, but also for historians of the locality and for art historians, too. As a result of microscopic and X-ray diffraction investigations, the pigments used by the painter were established: gypsum for white, orpiment for yellow, indigo for blue, 219
