advanced violin restoration techniques - International Specialised ...

International
Context
populace. Visiting Cremona afforded an opportunity to examine a major European violin
making and restoring community.
Outcomes
While all course notes and technical information has been included in the attachments
section of this report, there is some additional information that should be noted as valuable
insights gained as a result of the international experience.
Ethics of restoration
An interesting session on the ethics of restoration was held early in the BVMA course. The
main points are outlined below:
Try not to do anything that can’t be undone at a later stage. However, the principle of
‘reversibility’ is false. Any intervention you make will permanently alter the instrument. Work
on the assumption that whatever you do will have lasting consequence, so make sure they
are good and justifiable ones.
• Do not be tempted to interfere where it is not strictly necessary. Undoing what you might
regard as inferior repair work is not necessary if that repair is strong and not compromising
the sound.
• Do not overclean. You will end up by having to put back more retouching and natural
patina than you have taken off. Natural patina should be preserved as a part of the history
and usage of the instrument. Artificial patina that has to replace it in order to homogenise
the appearance of a restored instrument is never as good.
• Cutting down an instrument. Avoid at all costs. There are plenty of instruments that are
the right size.
• Rethicknessing. Resist the temptation to ‘improve’ another maker’s work
Have the courage to say no. Clients who want their instruments returned to `as new’
condition even if they want to spend thousands are wrong. As repairers and restorers we
are responsible for the preservation of instruments for future generations. Daly believes
repairers and restorers are also responsible for educating clients as to the historical value
of instruments, and the importance of maintaining them in as close to original condition as
possible.
New parts in general should `blend in’ but not be undetectable.
Do not use `UV’ matching varnish. It is essential that all repairs should be visible in some
way, so that there is no deception about the condition and history of the instrument. Good
retouching should blend as imperceptibly with the original varnish as possible without
encroaching on it, and should be detectable by Ultra Violet, if not by natural light.
Do not colour-match internal repairs. For the same reasons given above soundpost patches
etc should be visible. Painting in grain lines and figure is deception. If an instrument has to
have a patch, then subsequent owners and dealers need to be able to see it and decide
whether it has been well fitted and is reliable. Repairs that are clearly visible through the
soundhole should be blended in to avoid unnecessary and unsightly contrast, but should
not be excessively disguised.
`Returning to original state’ is impossible and should never be an objective in restoration
Our aim should be to optimise the tonal performance of an instrument within the limits of its
designed parameters. `Invisible repair’ for cosmetic reasons is an acceptable goal, but not
at the cost of compromising the structure of the instrument.
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