CONDITION ASSESSMENTS
CONDITION ASSESSMENTS HELP YOU MAKE GOOD DECISIONS ABOUT YOUR BRONZE
Bronze is a reactive material and can often surprise you with the strange things it does, but there is always a cause. We can help you determine why deterioration has happened and gauge how serious the situation is. We record our findings in a condition assessment which is there for you and others involved in the project to digest at your leisure.
Condition assessments will involve photography and sometimes corrosion analysis depending on the circumstances and the presentation of the surface.
Some bronze sculptures are loaned out for periods of time and these often come with a requirement to have regular condition assessments. This gives peace of mind to the owner that the bronzes are in good hands during their loan.
The aim with our condition assessments is to give clients sound advice in an easy to understand way so they can make the best decisions for the bronzes in their care. They are often the first part of a condition report which is a more extensive document provided after conservation work is undertaken.
Below are examples of the kinds of problems custodians notice on their bronzes and request our advice in the form of a condition assessment.

Water leaching from inside a casting

Track marks forming across a bronze surface

An original patina disfigured after a spillage
Do Contact Us For Help or email info@antiquebronze.co.uk
Condition assessments can be complimented by treatment reports. We write these reports according to the specific needs of your bronze statue, monument or architectural feature. The recommendations outline the treatment options for your bronze based on its current condition and can include pros and cons of each choice so that you, and your team, can make an informed decision about how you’d like to move forward.
We often write treatment reports and specifications for those professionals running larger building and landscaping projects who need some trusted expert input. We’ve worked in this way with architects, surveyors, project managers, building managers, conservation managers and as an expert witness.
Condition Reports aren’t only relevant for historic features and statues. It can be incredibly valuable to have conservation advice on a new build projects or contemporary sculpture. Often bronze finishes degrade in ways that foundries, fabricators and architects would never have predicted, but because we are out there on the front line conserving and restoring bronze every day, we have first hand experience of bronze changes over time and what you can expect in different environments.
The result is an unexpected restoration bill for their clients. Our treatment reports can prevent that ever being the case.

CONDITION ASSESSMENTS OF COLLECTIONS
Councils, private owners and custodians of sculpture often need condition assessments carrying out for multiple objects, or entire collections, so that they can plan and budget for essential works. We have may years of experience dealing with large collections and can be both a source of advice and support when decisions need to be made about where to spend resources.
Collections need to be dealt with differently than individual items but knowing which items warrant priority attention is something that we can aid you with. Our condition assessments will tell you useful details like whether corrosion is stable or active, and whether the rate of change is somethign to be concerned about or not.
Public sculpture, in particular, can be either a tourist magnet or a hub for anti-social behaviour and the difference is usually down to the condition of the feature. We can help to ensure the popularity of your largescale sculpture by identifying the best steps forward in our condition reports which will promote improvement in condition annually rather than slow decline.
Collections aren’t always sculpture, they are sometimes commemorative plaques, architectural or other types of more unusual historic features. If it’s bronze, then we can help you! Anything that is in multiples can be described as a collection and their condition may need assessing against others within the group.
PORT SUNLIGHT VILLAGE TRUST
Port Sunlight is a unique village located in the Wirral and founded by the ‘Soap King’ William Hesketh Lever in 1888. The village was built to house Lever’s ‘Sunlight Soap’ factory workers, but today is home to a fascinating museum, beautiful architecture, a world-class art gallery, stunning parkland and a thriving community.
The Leverhulme Memorial
Inspiration by Sir William Reid-Dick
The Gunners, Port Sunlight War Memorial by John Goscome
War Memorial Port Sunlight by John Goscome
Port Sunlight War Memorial by John Goscome
Limescale on Seapiece Sculpture by Sir Charles Wheeler
CONDITION ASSESSMENTS FOR EXHIBITIONS
Loans of sculpture for exhibitions can enable visibility opportunities for contemporary sculptors. It can also be a platform for curators to present new ways of seeing art, fresh ideas and forums for discussion. Condition assessments when loaning valuable bronzes are always a good idea: a form of insurance for all parties. Bronze is a reactive material and a condition assessment prior to transport, upon arrival or at deinstallation can ensure that damage or declining condition is not laid at the feet of the wrong party. A condition assessment clearly lays out the condition of a sculpture and puts sculptors, custodians, owners and curators minds at rest.
Not many institutions or sculptors have an expert in-house that can help them with these issues. We can provide all the help you need and work with couriers and galleries to ensure the exhibition goes ahead smoothly.
If for any reason, damage is incurred during an exhibition, we can also undertake sculpture conservation or restoration work on site so that the show can go on!
If during an assessment a concern about the sculpture is noted, we can help sculptors or owners plan how to rectify the issue. This can save a world of headaches when a sculpture is ready to be sold on.


Phillip King PRA (1 May 1934 – 27 July 2021) was a British sculptor. He was one of Anthony Caro‘s best-known students, and was also one of Henry Moore’s assistants.
For an exhibition of his work at Canary Wharf in 2009, we carried out a condition assessment for the client. During the exhibition, a child broke a weld between two segments while climbing the sculpture. We were able to repair the sculpture in situ and match the surface finish without disturbing the exhibition.