A statue of the Goddess Diana came to me in many broken pieces. This heirloom had been in my client's family for a long time, passed down from grandmother to mother. Now, the mother wanted to pass it on to her daughter.
Materials
Processes
The damage
Goddess Diana, this candle-holding statue, had had many nasty tumbles in her past, having been shipped or carried from different countries. Her wrists and arms had broken off. The two cherubs which were attached to her precariously, had had their legs and elbows broken off.
This statue, which was hollow and made of thin cast lead, needed extensive internal support and lots of grinding, sanding and colour blending to get the patina back as close as possible to its original.
MANY PIECES, many steps
I straightened all the metal pieces and reinforced elbows and legs. To provide strength, I used rebar, typically used in concrete reinforcement. Then, I bent the rebar by torch and coated the hollow lead statue and rebar with epoxy. I reinforced the base with a large chunk of steel to give it good anchorage and glued the broken decorative spacer rim. After the glue cured, I shaped and blended the glue and lead and introduced colour to make the statue look its age. I worked on the loose candle holder and machined a solid threaded support system. The statue gradually got her legs and arms back in place. I ground and sanded it down to the surface, then sealed and coloured the areas to match the rest of the statue. Once the cold weld epoxy glue set, I started the colouring process.
completion - views from all angles
Goddess Diana was nearly back together. I secured the large base to the rest of this lead sculpture.
Finally, it was time for a quick washing of the whole statue with vinegar and water, followed by dry brushing of acrylic paint. I then secured a cork and felt bottom and the statue, with strong arms and legs, was ready for two ferry rides to its home and a new life.