Description and Condition
This carved lime frame, typical of mid 17th Century North Italian work, is decorated with a bird with outstretched wings, a pair of mystical beasts and a mask, amongst opulent scrolls of foliage. It measures 4 feet wide by 3.5 feet high.
In the past a section of carved leafwork was inserted into each side to either increase or decrease the overall height. Possibly this alteration was carried out to accommodate the 17th Century Italian painting it now houses. It could have originally housed a mirror plate? Blown glass plates were usually 3 – 4.5 feet across each way at the most, at this date.
Small sections of carving were missing, the joints loose and some worm damage. The whole frame was coated in layers of gesso and gilded. The gold had a thick layer of black surface dirt, typical of this previously industrial area of Yorkshire, and there were large areas of detached gesso.
I was originally asked to clean and restore the gilding but on closer inspection I noticed the tiny fragments of blue pigment below the gold. The client agreed to have some samples analysed to determine if this was the original paint scheme, how much remained, how easy it would be to reveal, etc.
Paint Analysis
Tiny samples were taken from different areas and the fragments of paint were examined under low powered magnification and a few were mounted as cross-section to see the layers. Paint from the early layers was dispersed on glass slides and the pigments identified by polarised light microscopy. A chemical test for copper was carried out on the green.
The fragments showed loose pieces of later gesso and oil gilding, with original paint attached to the underside. A number of pieces start with a thin layer of red lead, traditionally used as primer.
This carved lime frame, typical of mid 17th Century North Italian work, is decorated with a bird with outstretched wings, a pair of mystical beasts and a mask, amongst opulent scrolls of foliage. It measures 4 feet wide by 3.5 feet high.
In the past a section of carved leafwork was inserted into each side to either increase or decrease the overall height. Possibly this alteration was carried out to accommodate the 17th Century Italian painting it now houses. It could have originally housed a mirror plate? Blown glass plates were usually 3 – 4.5 feet across each way at the most, at this date.
Small sections of carving were missing, the joints loose and some worm damage. The whole frame was coated in layers of gesso and gilded. The gold had a thick layer of black surface dirt, typical of this previously industrial area of Yorkshire, and there were large areas of detached gesso.
I was originally asked to clean and restore the gilding but on closer inspection I noticed the tiny fragments of blue pigment below the gold. The client agreed to have some samples analysed to determine if this was the original paint scheme, how much remained, how easy it would be to reveal, etc.
Paint Analysis
Tiny samples were taken from different areas and the fragments of paint were examined under low powered magnification and a few were mounted as cross-section to see the layers. Paint from the early layers was dispersed on glass slides and the pigments identified by polarised light microscopy. A chemical test for copper was carried out on the green.
The fragments showed loose pieces of later gesso and oil gilding, with original paint attached to the underside. A number of pieces start with a thin layer of red lead, traditionally used as primer.
