Professional paper
Problems of presentation of damaged wooden reliquaries from the cathedral of Pope St. Stephen in Hvar
Ivana Nina Unković
; Croatian Conservation Institute, Split Department for Conservation, Split, Croatia
Abstract
In practice we are often faced with the problem of reconstructing parts of an artwork. If we decide (not) to do it, we must offer purposeful arguments. The positive experience of foreign colleagues suggests that, in addition to taking advice from art historians, it is also useful to consult conservation experts from different fields, such as sculptors, designers, chemists and physicists.
The intention of the article’s author was to draw attention to gradual decision making in the process of reconstruction as one of the principles of conservation and restoration, and to demonstrate the application of this principle in the case of wooden polychrome and gilded reliquaries from the cathedral of Pope St. Stephen in Hvar, which were restored in 2008/2009 in the Croatian Conservation Institute – Department of Split, as a part of their regular program.
The paper analyzes several methods of reconstruction – from the traditional one to the use of modern materials and the advantages and disadvantages of their usage in the case of selected examples. Original storage conditions, physical characteristics of materials that could be used for the reconstruction of the relics and the overall aesthetic impression have all been taken into account when deciding about their restoration. Restoration interventions were elaborated together with a thorough evaluation of the positive and negative aspects of the restoration proposal: the reconstruction in timber with the purpose of distinction between the original and the reconstructed part, the usage of Plexiglas and copper wires.
Keywords
wooden reliquaries; Pope St. Stephen’s Cathedral; Hvar; issues of presentation; the theory of conservation; reconstruction of damaged parts
Hrčak ID:
106272
URI
Publication date:
20.12.2011.
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