Frames & Gilded Furniture Restoration
With a sound knowledge of frame manufacture, history and finishing we can restore and conserve any frame, picture, or piece of gilded furniture.
We offer this service not only to art dealers, Trusts and museums but also to the public.
After evaluating the condition we can suggest the best options going forward either full restoration, conservation or a new replica.
18th-Century Table Restoration
One of our more recent restorations was of an 18th-century table. We started restoring this by cleaning off the dirt, stripping off the old paint finish down to the gesso base. After cleaning we applied fresh gesso and repaired cracking. Fresh clay bole was added and the table was re-gilded in 23 1/2 carat gold using the water and oil gilding method. Once the gilding had been completed, we burnished and toned with an antique wash. The whole project took over 120 hours.
19th Century Victorian Mirror
This frame was a 19th Century Victorian copy of the hand-carved 18th Century Imperial Mirrors which graced country Estate Houses of the period and it had fallen from the wall, separating the section almost in half and loosening several parts of the decoration.
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It made sense to split the frame and scrape off the old glue and re-fix the frame to strengthen it.
Once this was dry, the whole finish was stripped back to the original gesso.
As most of the compo decoration was missing, the decision was made to remove the bead and inner leaf and add new mouldings taken from our original Victorian mould collection.
The frame was re gessoed in separate parts with each ball surrounding the glass, dipped in gesso several times and the frame was sanded, shaped and polished.
When dry, 5 coats of gilding clay were added and the 22-carat loose leaf was applied in individual pieces using the water gilding method.
After polishing with an agate tool, the frame was re-assembled and then toned so the finish was uniform which gave a more genuine look.