An antique evaluator told me once to make repairs in such a way that the
added material can be removed later, leaving the original article in "as
found condition". He was talking of furniture at the time but said that he
has used the technique on jewelry, sculpture, pottery, etc. For collectors
pieces, a permanent repair (using epoxy or whatever) could drop the antique
value to about a third.
He suggested using color matched (or contrasted) wax. I believe that museum
conservators often use wax to reassemble pottery shards back into the
original shape. I thought of using a water based glue (flour & water?) that
could be soaked off later. The reduced strength of the "poor repair" could
be offset with some out-of-sight reinforcing such as wood, hessian, paper,
fiberglass tape (drywall tape) or ?
Ralph (Gus) Gustafson, AScT
Keating Forge
Victoria BC
(250) 652-1864
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Stevens" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 4:05 AM
Subject: The repair of ancient metal artefacts
>I am seeking details of adhesives recommended for the joining of fractured
>ancient metal artefacts.
> Does the choice vary depending on size/weight or type of metal (bronze;
> silver; gold; lead) say?
> I assume it is preferable to use adhesives rather than traditional metal
> joining techniques which could change the structure/state of the object.
> Is there a preferred reference text/paper?
>
> Best regards,
>
> Robert Stevens
>
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