Professional paper

CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION OF THE SCULPTURES FROM THE FACADE OF THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. PETER IN SUPETAR ON THE ISLAND OF BRAČ

Veronika Meštrović Šaran
Zoran Boban

Abstract

Construction of the parish church of St. Peter in Supetar began in the 16th century, upon the remains of an early-Christian basilica. The original church burned down in a fire in 1792, and the citizens of Supetar soon began work on a new one. By the end of the 19th century, the church had been expanded several times, but its western facade, decorated with stone sculptures (the Holy Father and two angels, an angel relief and six vases), remained unchanged.
The main problem with these pieces was the possibility that they would fall from their place on the façade, due to the inadequate manner in which they were fastened to their bases, thus endangering the faithful and passers by. The sculptures were taken down and transported to the "Neir" company workshop in Split, where they underwent conservation and restoration procedures.
By studying the observed state of the pieces, various forms of damage and impurities in the stone were observed, as a result of environmental influences and natural material degradation. The surface of these sculptures was extremely cracked and eroded by water, as well as the application of inadequate cleaning methods which were used in the past.
Corrosion on the iron elements that were used to fasten the pieces to the church's facade caused the stone to break in places, so certain pieces were irrevocably lost. These spots were reconstructed using mortar with a base of gray portland cement, which is inappropriate for the restoration of stone as it contains large quantities of harmful salts which seep into the structure of the material when exposed to moisture, thus contaminating it.
By combining the results of preliminary conservation and restoration research, which includes a detailed study of the observed state of the pieces, with diagnostic testing of the concentration of harmful salts in the stone, a course was set for the conservation and restoration effort. This includes removing the impurities, desalinization, replacing the iron elements with stainless steel splints, applying a hydrophobic coating and properly installing the pieces, so as to prevent or at least slow down any harmful processes, and preserve the pieces as well as possible.

Keywords

Supetar; conservation; microblasting; desalinisation

Hrčak ID:

130837

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/130837

Publication date:

17.12.2014.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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