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bronze sculpture,repair, restore, restoring, fine metal, bronze statues, coffeepot handles, antique mechanisms, art objects, Antiques, coffee pot

General Nathanael Greene plaque restoration
for Brown University

This is the restored early Gorham bronze plaque whicch hangs on University Hall, Brown University's oldest building. Rather than remove the aged patina, we blended it with new patina chemicals, and stabilized the surface with lacquer and wax. It has remained in this stable state for many years.

Completed restoration

This Gorham plaque has remained on the wall of University Hall since its original placement in 1927.

Aged residue remained from the popular student activity of affixing posters to it.

The natural aging process had generated the verdigris/black oxide patina characteristic of most outdoor bronzes.

Restoration involved removing the remains of grafitti, balancing the patina to be consistent with the overall campus aesthetic, and covering the surface with protective layers of lacquer and wax.

We restored the plaque in 2001, and it remains completely stable.
 
 

The General Nathaniel Greene plaque on University Hall, Brown University, before we restored it. It had developed a heavy layer of verdigris corrosion, or, patina. The difference between corrosion and patina is the same as that between cultivated plants in a garden, and weeds ­ a matter of attitude. The plaque was also covered with leftover grafitti from campus posters stuck to its face.		  

Before restoration

Detail

this is a detail of the Nataniel Greene Plaque before we restored it. You can see the leftover grafitti, and the red and verdigris patina which had developed over the years. You can also see the beautifully carved letters which were cast into the plaque's face. Most lettering on plaques protrudes from the face, which has a very different appearance

 

this link returns you to our home page where this early Gorham plaque is one af many restoration projects which we, as a specialty trade, have done for historical institutions.