The RRC conservation team recently undertook the restoration of gilt chippendale style mirror that had fallen from the wall of a private residence due to the failure of old fixings. Miraculously, the glass mirror survived the fall, the giltwood frame, however, was not so lucky. The type of damage the frame sustained can be seen in the images above, on the left.
The team at RRC meticulously pieced the frame, numbering close to 100 fragments, back together. Areas of loss were filled, and recarved where necessary, and the repairs gilded and coloured to match the original finish in a process that took over two months.
The extensive damage to the frame meant that it could no longer support the weight of the large piece of mirror glass so, with the assistance of the RRC Exhibitions team, a discreet steel supporting frame was produced to take the weight of the glass and transfer it to the wall. On completion, the mirror was reinstalled by our team, in it’s original position, as shown above on the right.
