The STaTe hermiTage muSeum annual reporT

estoratIon anD conserVatIon restoratIon anD conserVatIon
laBoraTory for ScienTific reSToraTion
of mural painTing
Headed by A. Bliakher
reSToraTion of an old ruSSian
freSco Showing The lower parT
of The figure of a SainT
(The hem of The roBe and feeT)
Pskov, the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity,
12th century
Under restoration
Restored by O. Khakhanova
In 1981, a fresco from the Cathedral of
the Holy Trinity was lifted from the ruins.
It had fallen from a great height onto an
uneven hard surface together with a heavy
block of masonry. The blow had a destructive
effect on the front of the fresco, which
shattered into many pieces. The fresco was
greatly deformed, broken into multiple tiny
fragments (from 1 sq. mm to 5 sq. cm), and
the image was nearly impossible to recover.
R. Belyakova, restorer from the Laboratory
for Scientific Restoration of Mural Painting,
managed to undertake the preliminary conservation
work in situ.
At the Lab, the fresco had to be taken apart
into separate blocks because of the damage
it had sustained, and these blocks had to be
further broken into fragments. The fresco
was in a poor state, with many fragments
almost crumbling to dust. The restorers
straightened the surface level of the fresco,
cleaned the seams and glued the whole work
together again.
The work also entailed tracing copies of
each fragment on plastic film (a working
scheme), which made it possible to locate
each piece, including the tiniest ones. This
method of using a working scheme section
by section was used for the first time.
A drawn copy was also made in order to define
the patterns of the image.
The fresco is being restored under the supervision
of V. Fominykh, top grade restorer.
ancienT egypTian carTonnage
SarcophaguS wiTh columnS
of dedicaTory inScripTion
on The fronT Side
Restored by L. Gagen
The cartonnage was received in several pieces.
Its reverse side had sustained the most
damage – there were six large fragments
with the foundation peeling off in many
places, many cracks, torn-off strips of fabric,
and other defects. The pieces were all much
stained.
The sarcophagus underwent a full restoration
and conservation procedure: the foundation
was strengthened, it was backed up
on a new fabric, the separate fragments were
pieced and glued together, the colour layer
was uncovered and cleaned, the deformities
removed, and internal inserts added to preserve
the shape of the object.
laBoraTory for ScienTific reSToraTion
of SculpTure and coloured SToneS
Headed by S. Petrova
SculpTureS To Be diSplayed aT The exhiBiTion
The immoRTal aleXandeR The gReaT. The mYTh. The RealiTY.
his jouRneY. his legacY in The exhiBiTion roomS
of The hermiTage • amSTerdam cenTre
Restored by Ye. Andreyeva, K. Blagoveshchensky, V. Klur,
V. Mozgovoi, S. Petrova
Over 40 artifacts from the collections of the
Department of Classical Antiquity and the
Oriental Department of the State Hermitage
underwent restoration. The most difficult
and time-consuming task was the restoration
of ancient sculpture.
The marble surface of the statue of Dionysus
(Roman copy of the Greek original of the
3rd century B.C., marble, inv. no. ГР-3004
(A.104)) was covered with persistent, uneven
dust deposits. The numerous nineteenthcentury
plaster additions were stained and
in many places overlay the original marble.
The wax and galipot mastic used in the 18th
and 19th centuries to fill in the seams between
fragments and varnish layers had
changed colour, darkened and yellowed,
revealing multiple seams and cracks. During
the conservation and restoration, the
surface was cleaned, and the stains and
impurities removed, along with drops of
dark mastic and soiled plaster additions.
The original marble surface was uncovered.
The numerous seams between large and
small fragments were cleared of the yellowed
wax and galipot mastic and filled in
with a polymeric and crushed marble mixture.
The insignificant losses were filled in
using composite materials.
The work on the statue of Hercules (marble,
inv. no. ГР 26 (A.308)) entailed making
a replacement for a large lost fragment of
the plinth, which was moulded and cast
of a composite imitation material. A large
amount of work was also needed to remove
the stains, clean the seams, remove rough
mastic and replace it with a reversible polymeric
and crushed marble mixture.
During the restoration of the statue of Serapis
(marble, inv. no. ГР-3550 (A.216)) it
was considered necessary to make a mould
of the marble original head dismantled
by O. Waldhauer, since it was impossible to
exhibit the statue in fragments. The copy
made of composite material imitating the
colour and texture of the marble torso was
placed on the statue, with a specially designed
system of combining the fragments
which would allow for a straightforward
removal of the restoration addition.
The unique statue of Eros with his bow
(marble, inv. no. ГР-3102 (A.199)) was restored
as well. Its plinth has a bronze band
with the inscription reading “Acquired in
1851 from the Papal Government in exchange
for yielding to it land on the Palatine
Hill”. The broken plinth was glued
together and mounted to its original place,
the marble surface was cleaned, the seams
were cleaned and varnished over; later
mastic not matching the original colour
and texture was removed from the original
parts of the artifact, large fractures were varnished
over.
As a result of the conservation and restoration,
the marble statues from the collection
of the Department of Classical Antiquity became
fit to be exhibited again.
Statue of Eros with a bow. Fragment.
Before restoration
Statue of Eros with a bow. Fragment.
After restoration
Statue of Hercules. Before restoration Statue of Hercules. After restoration
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