St Paul's Cathedral re-applying sections of the St Mark pendentive mosaic
St Paul's Cathedral - working on detail of St Marks head
Conservation and Restoration
In the field of mosaic conservation the compant boasts an exceptional team of experienced technicians and artist-craftsmen.
They have developed highly skilled methods in non-invasive sounding surveys. Dragging a tuning-fork over the mosaic surface produces a variety of sounds which denote to their finely tuned ears the precise location, type and degree of malfunction beneath the mosaic surface.
Decayed lime mortars and voids behind the tesserae are treated by injecting special mortars with syringes. Their advanced techniques of injection and gravity-fed consolidation have achieved remarkable successes, all of which are meticulously recorded in detailed conservation reports.
The company are also highly accomplished at reconstructing "lost" areas of mosaic. This specialist work should only be attempted by suitably qualified and experienced practitioners who are able themselves to accurately simulate the quality of the original art-work and craftsmanship.
Occasionally a mosaic will need to be completely removed and reinstated. Trevor Caley Associates undertook such an operation at St. Paul's Cathedral. The 24 square metre St. Marks pendentive located immediately beneath the Whispering Gallery had dangerously detached from its backing. It was carefully removed in sections to their workshops for repairs and cleaning. They then prepared the wall with a uniquely reinforced render then reinstated the mosaic in fresh mortar precisely to its original location.
In addition to St. Paul's, other noteworthy conservation projects carried out by the company include the Albert Memorial (for which they were awarded the RICS Building Conservation Award, 1999) The Royal Courts of Justice, London : Charlotte Square, Edinburgh : The Old Admiralty Building, Fishmongers Hall and 18/19 Kensington Palace Gardens, all in London.
Albert Memorial - a "lost" and badly damaged area, being reconstructed in the workshop
Albert Memorial - "lost" patches of mosaic before and (below) after reconstruction
