Repairing damaged African sculptures, made from wood which has been made to look like ebony

Occasionally I'm asked to repair or restore a damaged sculpture. They have needed repair due to a range of reasons, ranging from wear-and-tear to having been knocked over by someone's mother-in-law!

These two racing male cheetahs, 90 cm (3 feet) long, were carved in Tanzania and had been damaged in transit to the UK. Although the wood looks superficially similar to ebony, it is actually another kind of timber (probably Ironwood [Olea capensis] or Bleedwood [Pterocarpus angolensis]) that has had a dark stain and then black shoe polish applied. This darkening really brings out the form of the sculpture, as it reduces the visual impact of the timber's grain. 

Since both of these are a fairly widespread and common trees in Tanzania, I must admit to being happy that a different wood has been used to make this sculpture instead of ebony. Genuine African ebony trees (Diospyros crassiflora) are not native to this area, as well as being much scarcer and threatened by over-exploitation, so it was good to see a Tanzanian sculptor using what I believe to be local timber.

The tail of one cheetah was almost completely broken off and there were a couple of other nasty breaks as well. 

I really enjoy studying the sculptures to be repaired to see how they have been made by the carver who created them, so that the repair can echo their work as closely as possible.  

Some might be surprised to find out that these cheetahs were constructed from at least ten different pieces of wood, carefully jointed and then held together by nails. This actually has more than one benefit. It means that the carver wastes less timber than if the whole sculpture was carved from a single piece of wood. It also means that the grain runs along each leg and tail, so making them stronger and less likely to break across the grain.

The joins between pieces of wood were also filled with some kind of pitch or resin, which has been modelled in places to follow the shape of the carving. It was interesting to see this, as I've found the technique used in other sculptures from East Africa too.

To repair the piece, I carefully fixed the broken pieces together, with an internal supporting rod if necessary, then filled the remaining gaps with a paste made from wood dust mixed into a resin compound. 

This was left overnight and then any remaining holes or gaps filled with the same mixture. When it was all filled and set, the repair was very carefully sanded smooth and then polished with black wax polish.

It's quite a time-consuming and fiddly job, as the resin must set fully between each application. After the work was finished though, it was great to finally see the sculpture restored back to its former glory. The sense of movement and energy is very well portrayed, which I think is one of the hardest things to get across when removing material to shape a carving.

You may also like to see this previous commission to repair a damaged sculpture by the renowned Zambian sculptor, Friday Tembo. The owners were personal friends of Mr. Tembo, who had since passed away, so this repair was even more important to them. When it arrived at my workshop, the piece looked like this:

It shows a shaman in the act of transforming between the form of a fish and that of a man. The repair took a while, but it was interesting to use this process to study in more depth how this unusual artwork had been made and the techniques that had been used.

Again there was a real sense of satisfaction in restoring the piece, which was heightened by knowing who the sculptor was and how important this sculpture was to its owners.

Spectacular carvings by Thomas Paty and John Michael Rysbrack in Redland Chapel, Bristol

Redland chapel is situated in a suburb of Bristol. It was opened in October 1743 and was commissioned by John Cossins as a private chapel for his family.

The chapel is very unusual as it is not dedicated to a particular saint, holy figure or the Christian Trinity. Some have speculated that this may have been largely because it was a private chapel but maybe also because Cossins was a freemason and symbols such as the eye of Osiris were apparently part of the original decoration. When built, it would have stood in a rural setting overlooking small villages, which are now suburbs of the city. These unusual carvings of young African faces look out over the view.

Why such unique subject matter? No one is sure, perhaps it was related to Bristol's unfortunate links to the slave trade, perhaps they were servants who have been immortalised watching over the family tomb below or perhaps it is simply that such portrayals were in vogue at the time.

Inside the chapel are the carvings that I had travelled here to see. Thomas Paty was an eighteenth century carver of stone and wood who was largely based in Bristol, where he worked with his sons John and William. Several local buildings contain sculpture by the Patys. Although the work looks similar to Grinling Gibbons' carving, Thomas Paty was born about eight years before Gibbons died so they were not working at the same time.

Image from:http://bristolgems.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/a-country-chapel-redland-parish-church/

Unfortunately, a large part of the carved work is obscured by an unfortunately-placed projection screen which is apparently prone to jamming when raised. It also covers a large oil painting of the Embalming of Christ by John Vanderbank. The painting is an eighteenth-century copy of an earlier one by Annibale Caracci, which hung in Houghton Hall in Norfolk before going into the collection of the Russian royal family, where it was destroyed in a fire. I only hope that the location of the projection screen can be changed or the jamming sorted out , as it seems like a terrible shame to hide such beautiful and important work behind this blank white obstruction, as you can see below...

The Baroque carvings are executed in limewood, contrasting beautifully against a dark oak background. They have recently been restored after years of woodworm damage as well as some vandalism during a break-in a few years ago. Much of the carving work in the restoration was done by Charles Oldham, who is based in nearby Frome.

It was certainly worth it, they are stunning. The restoration work has not filled in every worm hole, as you can see below, but particularly damaged parts were replaced and everything cleaned, apparently the cleaning material being saliva on cotton buds. I was told that saliva contains enzymes that make it more effective than water for the job.

The cover of the font below was stolen during the break-in and a replacement has been carved and gilded by Laurence Beckford

The 'Bristolgems' blog has some very interesting information about the chapel and about Paty himself.

Near the entrance are two marble busts carved by the noted carver John Michael Rysbrack, who was originally Flemish but based himself in London and was one of the pre-eminent portrait sculptors of the time. They depict John and William Innys, the brothers of John Cossins' wife Martha, in informal attire. Perhaps this was also the fashion during that period? 

The informality does seem a bit odd in a church, especially when the nearby busts of John and Martha Cossins (also by Rysbrack) are much more formal. 

The busts of the Cossins were made in 1734 and kept at their house until Martha's death in 1762. If the busts of her brothers were made at the same time and kept in the house, that could possibly explain their informality. Maybe Cossins and Martha preferred a more formal look?

Unfortunately, following the break-in the chapel now has to be locked outside of times of services. However, if you contact the chapel, they are happy to show people inside by appointment. Many thanks to Gill and Michael for taking time to show me around and chat about the beautiful work there.