The STaTe hermiTage muSeum annual reporT

estoratIon anD conserVatIon restoratIon anD conserVatIon
and hardened, but it was still supple. The
wooden supports of the antlers were nearly
entirely absent, as was a large part of the
left antler. During the emergency conservation,
all the torn areas had been backed
up on fabric; the lost leather base had been
replaced with dark glutinous mastic; the
extant fragments of the second antler had
been glued to a carton base and attached
with thread to aluminium wire which replaced
the wooden supports. The thick
layer of glue, which had lost all its elasticity,
was making the leather even more rigid.
A second restoration was called for, especially
since it was not only the backing
materials that had become obsolete (for
instance, dyed muslin was used for keeping
fragments together), but the adhesives
as well – most of them did not conform to
conservation standards. Moreover, it was
now possible to subject the collection to
a modern chemical, physical-chemical,
and microbiological assessment. S. Khavrin
from the Expert Examination Department
analyzed the pigments on the leather antlers
and the wooden support and established
that the pigment used was cinnabar. M. Kolosova
determined that the stag’s head was
made of Siberian pinewood, and the support
of the antlers of honeysuckle wood.
During the restoration, the surface of the
leather base of the mask was cleaned of impurities
and adhesive deposits, the deformities
of the leather were removed inasmuch as
that was possible, the old rigid patches were
replaced with up-to-date backing materials
using polymeric compounds specially developed
for gluing leather pieces together.
The rough mastic with colour and texture
different from those of the original was removed,
and the lost leather fragments filled
in with new elastic varnishes selected to
match the original; the left antler was made
out of a piece of rawhide to match the right
one. A light detachable wooden support was
made by the restorer V. Gradov (Laboratory
for Scientific Restoration of Furniture)
to attach the leather antlers to the wooden
stag’s head. It keeps the antlers secure on
the leather mask base but does not distract
the attention of the viewers.
The mask is displayed together with the
complete harness set composed of the bridle,
saddle, saddle cover and saddle-cloth
which were found in the same horse burial.
preparing The amBer
archaeological arTifacTS
for The exhiBiTion ambeR in
ancienT culTuRes. masTeRpieces
fRom The heRmiTage museum
collecTion
Restored by K. Nikitina, Ye. Chekhova,
M. Michri, Ye. Mankova,
N. Vasilyeva
The State Hermitage possesses many amber
artifacts, a considerable number of which
are archaeological finds discovered in settlements
and burial sites.
The Laboratory restorers prepared over
50 such finds for the exhibition. Among the
items which underwent conservation were
pendants, beads, amber pieces, fragments
of necklaces, cowry shells, shell-shaped pendants
made of horn; beads composed of amber,
glass, paste, lignite, carnelian; beads of
lignite, chalcedony, glass, paste, and bones
of ancient fish. An interesting find is a figurine
of a lion from the Bolshoi Burial near
Armavir (Kuban Region) (first half of the
1st century). The most numerous finds are
bead necklaces and pendants, from tiny
beads (3 mm), flat plaques, or cylindrical
hollowed pieces to large single pieces (up to
6 cm) which had undergone only the most
superficial treatment.
Archaeological amber – that is, artifacts
made of ancient resin found underground –
is a brittle material which is very susceptible
to atmospheric impact. It is well known that
when amber pieces undergo a primary treatment
in order to make them into artifacts,
this triggers oxidation processes causing
the amber to darken or change its original
colour. The preservation of amber, even in
normal temperature and humidity, depends
on the environment: air, light, and heat.
Necklace. Before restoration
Necklace. During conservation
Necklace. After restoration
Any of these factors can cause tiny cracks
to appear on the surface, which then widen
and spread to the whole surface of the amber
object, making the amber brittle and
opaque.
The exhibits were brought for restoration
from storage, where they had usually been
placed immediately after the excavations
after only superficial treatment in field conditions.
A great number of items had never
undergone conservation before. The state
of their preservation varied, but the majority
were in urgent need of restoration. A great
number of amber beads were in a very poor
condition, with many cracks, broken fragments,
stains, damage and flaking of the
surface layer. In some of the artifacts, the
material had partially disintegrated, causing
changes in the texture of the amber: some
of the beads had an opaque oxidized shell
on the surface, while the body of the amber
laBoraTory for ScienTific
reSToraTion of TexTileS
Headed by M. Denisova
chenille and glaSS Bead panelS
from The glaSS Bead room
of The chineSe palace
Restored by M. Denisova,
G. Fedorova, L. Loginova,
M. Tikhonova, T. Grunina-Shkvarok,
A. Shapran
Twelve panels embroidered with chenille
and glass beads were made in 1762–1764 in
the de Chele workshop in St. Petersburg for
the Glass Bead Room in the Chinese Palace
(Oranienbaum). Each panel is placed in a
wooden carved and gilded frame.
In the mid-19th century, the chenille embroidery
was painted over. In 1941–1945 the
glass bead panels were taken down from the
walls and moved to Leningrad, where they
were kept in the crypt of St. Isaac’s Cathedral,
which caused mould to spread over
them. They were then brought to the State
Hermitage for restoration, and in 1946 they
were returned to Oranienbaum.
On 10 September 2009, the glass bead panels
were again dismantled and admitted for
restoration. Once test clearings and a full
examination were carried out with the help
of the experts from the Biological Control
Laboratory and the Expert Examination
Department of the State Hermitage, plans
were laid for the necessary restoration procedure
which was approved by the Restoration
Commission of the State Hermitage
and the Committee for State Control, Use
piece itself had crystallized and was ready to
fall into pieces. The restoration procedures
included macrophotography, which made
it possible to evaluate the state of preservation
of the objects and decide on the best
ways of preserving them.
The main task in preparing the items for the
exhibition was to conserve them, i.e. preserve
them in their original state. The lost
fragments and cracks were primarily filled
in to make the objects more durable.
The formula for saturating and pasting the
finds was specially developed for each individual
case. The conservation itself depended
on the state of preservation – with some
of the objects, the infusions were limited to
damaged areas, and some needed to be saturated
in their entirety.
The preparation of the exhibits included
a number of restoration procedures such as
examination, photography, reinforcement,
and Protection of Monuments of History
and Culture.
At the start of the restoration, all the embroidered
glass bead panels had been severely
soiled, deformed, with mould and leak stains.
Glass bead threads had come loose, sagged,
and torn off in places. Chenille embroidery
was covered with coarse gouache paint coatings
all over the surface. There was a dense
layer of paint forming a rigid cracked crust,
which almost covered the original velvety
surface of the embroidery and distorted its
colour scheme. In some places, the threads
of the embroidery were badly worn out, the
velvety chenille fleece had been lost, the
base of threads thinned, and the threads
themselves pulled out. In places of severe
cleaning, pasting together, varnishing of the
amber finds (replicas of lost fragments were
used in very few cases). The small beads
from the Kichmalka II burial were assembled
in a necklace.
The amber finds from ancient burial and
settlement sites are an important archaeological
source which yields valuable information
about both the applied art and the
prosperity of the population who owned
them, as well as about the contacts between
different cultures. The preservation of such
artifacts equals the preservation of information
which can be used by researchers both
in the present and the future.
Detail of the panel with overpainting Detail of the panel after the ovepainting’s removal
78 79