The STaTe hermiTage muSeum annual reporT

estoratIon anD conserVatIon restoratIon anD conserVatIon
laBoraTory for ScienTific
reSToraTion of applied arT
oBJecTS
Headed by A. Bantikov
SecTor for reSToraTion
of archaeological meTal
In 2010, 1,500 items were restored in this
sector. A few of the more important and
challenging jobs are described below.
iron helmeT wiTh Silver
decoraTion in relief
Northern Black Sea Area, near Kerch
(ancient Pantikapaion),
first half – middle of the 3rd century B.C.
Restored by N. Yankovskaya
The exhibit had already undergone restoration,
with fragments of the helmet walls
pieced together and consolidated with wax
and galipot mastic. An examination of the
items revealed that the back part and neck
flap had disintegrated. In order to exhibit
the helmet, it was necessary to reassemble
all the pieces and to clean the surface of the
silver plates on the cheek guards. In order to
restore the artifact to its original shape and
to reinforce the individual pieces, it had to
be cleaned of old conservation materials:
wax-and-galipot mastic deposits from the
seams and dilapidated conservation varnish
from the surface, which skewed the joining
edges of individual fragments. The silver
plates were cleaned and the original shape
reconstructed. The conservation made it
possible to consolidate the original materials,
remove the surface stains and recover
the fine details of the silver plate patterning.
Silver rhyTon
Kuban Area, 4th Semibratny Burial Mound,
5th century B.C.
Restored by O. Senatorova
At the start of the restoration process, the
rhyton consisted of two fragments. There
were significant losses and cracks across the
whole surface. The metal inside the rhyton
was peeling. The butyral film used for backing
in places had disintegrated, causing the
original metal to crack. The butyral film and
the old conservation varnish were removed,
the losses and cracks were backed up onto
thin fibreglass cloth and where necessary
supplemented with thin polymer plates following
the original shape.
Iron helmet with silver decoration in relief. Before restoration
Iron helmet with silver decoration in relief. After restoration
Silver rhyton. Fragment. Before restoration Silver rhyton. Fragment. After restoration
Silver Bowl on Three
Shell-Shaped legS wiTh gilding
along The rim
Northern Black Sea Area, the Pantikapaion
necropolis, first half of the 3rd century B.C.
Restored by N. Panchenko
The object had undergone restoration in
the 1950s, when the walls were reinforced
with copper wire armouring welded on tin
and backed up on thin fabric.
This hardwiring later caused the thin walls
of the cup to crack and fall through, which
created losses and threatened the integrity
of the whole object. The old conservation
materials were partially removed: the silver
and wire were cleaned of tin deposits, and
the conservation varnish was removed from
the surface of the object.
The cleaning of the surface uncovered the
gilded rim of the cup, which was cleaned as
well. Then the cup was strengthened, partly
backed up on fibreglass cloth, and the fragments
were assembled and glued together.
BronZe Jug
Syria – Iraq, 8th – 9th century
Restored by O. Semenova
The jug had never undergone conservation
before. The whole object was covered
in thick corrosion and soil deposits, under
which it was possible to see the metal surface.
There was a hole in the bottom of the
jug, which was covered with a fabric stopper
in the Middle Ages. The body was decorated
with an inlaid rosette. The restorers uncovered
the original surface of the jug, revealing
the ornamental neck and the inlay.
BronZe mirror on a leaTher
STrap
Tyva, Chinge-Tei, 7th century B.C.
Restored by M. Borovikova
The mirror was brought for conservation
after it was uncovered during excavations.
The whole surface of the object was covered
in corrosion and soil deposits, the
mirror edges were uneven. On the reverse
in the centre of the mirror there is a handle
shaped as a goat figure, tightly braided
with a fragile leather strap. The restorers
uncovered a paste bead on the strap near
the centre of the mirror. The conservation
resulted in the surface of the mirror being
cleaned, the strap reinforced and the white
paste bead cleaned.
Silver bowl on three shell-shaped legs with gilding along the rim. After restoration
Bronze jug. Before restoration
Bronze jug. After restoration
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