These beautiful eighteenth-century carved and gilded panels from Ditchely Park in Oxfordshire had been moved in the 1950s from their original location to the then newly created Lecture Theatre at the house. At that time the backboards, which had originally been red, to reflect their location in the Red Velvet room at Ditchely Park, were repainted blue.
As part of ongoing work at Ditchely Park, the panels will now be returned to their original location. However, to allow this move and redisplay, they required considerable conservation attention, and for the repainted backgrounds to be addressed.
Following conservation assessment, which included examination of cross-section and pigment analysis that characterised the layer structures and elements of the grounds, gilding, and, in particular, the original layers, pigments and binders of the backboard painting and the repaint, I drew up a conservation treatment proposal. This aimed to stabilize and secure the backboards, the fittings of the carved and gilded element to the boards, and the decorative surfaces of the elements, as well as address the repainted backgrounds, to allow the rehanging of the panels in their original location.
In formulating the treatment proposal, the feasibility of removing the blue overpaint from the backboards to reveal the original red was considered. But, as well as being excessively time-consuming, and potentially damaging to the original layer, removal would have been aesthetically compromising, as the current upper glaze layer of the red appeared to have discoloured and become greyish. Therefore, the approach taken left the later layers in place, which respects the history of the piece, and avoids both possible damage to the original by uncovering, and a compromised finished result. Instead, the original colour was recreated over the blue layer. This was undertaken using a reversible conservation grade medium and stable pigments, colour-matched to areas where the original red was visible beneath loose or lost sections of decoration. The pigment analysis, as well as the red of the hangings in the Red Velvet Room also informed the recreation of the colour.
As well as the work to the background colour, the conservation aimed to reduce disfiguring and discoloured bronze paint which covered many of the original gilded surfaces, to reattach and secure loose elements of carving, some of which had been removed for safekeeping, and to secure lifting and flaking paint and gilded layers. More recently lost elements of carving were recreated. The historically lost carved elements – where the broken edges had been overpainted in previous interventions – were not recreated and the old restorations were not or de-restored, where this did not compromise stability or understanding of the original, in keeping with current conservation ethics. Instead, these old interventions/treated damages were treated and secured as required as part of the conservation process. The old discoloured retouching and bronze paint were, however, removed/reduced as they significantly impacted the reading of the original surfaces and were disfiguring and distracting – the discoloured appearance was also not in keeping with the original intention of the intervention.
I undertook this conservation project over the summer and early autumn, reducing dirt and dust deposits across all surfaces, removing the old and discoloured retouching, stabilising the layers and decorative elements, recreating the missing elements as appropriate and gilding and toning them to fit with the originals, as well as recreating the background red for both panels. The panels are now secure and stable and are ready to be reinstalled in the Red Velvet Room.
Images of befores, after and durings of the work are shown below.
Discoloured old retouching, damage and remains of the original red beneath a lost carving
Lifting and flaking, before and after treatment
Winged mermaid figure, above after removal of the discoloured retouching, below after filling and retouching holes within the backboard, the recreation, gilding and toning of a carved element, retouching the losses to the original gilding and the recreation of the original red ground
Gilding and toning one of the recreated sections of carving