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Sector for Restoration of New Metal Sector leader, expert restorer Alexei I. Bantikov In the parlance of professional restorers, objects made of "new" metal differ from those made of "archeological" metal by the fact that they were not found buried in the earth. Exhibits of the former category have over the years of their existence been exposed mainly to everyday soiling and to corrosion from the atmosphere and due to handling. In the State Hermitage there are more than one million exhibits made of metal, and many of them are in need of restoration. Every year the staff in the sector carry out restoration and conservation work on around 1,000 objects. The main task for restorers is to eliminate the products of corrosion from the metal and to protect it from further atmospheric influence. Investigative activity and scientific developments begun in the mid-1970s enable restorers to successfully solve the problems they face. Methodologies have been created for restoring arms, for filling in lost parts by using the technique of casting from wax models and for eliminating products of corrosion from silver by applying modern chemical compositions and lasers. Together with the Hermitage's chemical laboratory, the expert restorer S.A. Smirnov developed a method for eliminating surface soiling and products of corrosion from metals through poly-electrolytes (author's rights registered and protected). One of the most difficult types of monuments is objects which were prepared using metals in combination with other materials, such as leather, wood, bone, precious stones, mother of pearl or enamels. This greatly complicates efforts at eliminating layers of corrosion, since the metal is solidly bound to various organic and inorganic materials many of which inhibit the action of the chemicals used to clean the metal and frequently need other methods of restoration. One special group of exhibits consists of articles from the Orient which are decorated with a very thin silver filigree, painting or water soluble paints and which include all sorts of exotic materials. Monuments from the Early Middle Ages have a pretty natural patina which protects the metal from further destructive loss. Under unpropitious conditions, such as dirt or heightened humidity, a corrosive layer of so-called "wild" patina forms on the surface of the metal and this destroys both the natural patina and the work of art itself. The restorer has the task of removing the salts of this "wild" patina and preserving the natural patina. At the present time work in the sector is continuing to find new methods of restoring filigree and enamels, including the use of quantum generators. We are successfully solving the task of reproducing lost parts and making copies of the exhibits. Restoration programmes: |
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