SCULPTURE REPAIR

DAMAGE ISN’T ALWAYS INTENTIONAL

Although vandalism is a significant factor in much of the damage we see on sculpture – it’s not the whole story. Damage can be caused through accident but more suprisingly from too much love!

Love for a sculpture is often expressed by high contact. Children climb and swing from a vulnerable section. People sit on the sculpture multiple times a day to enjoy their sandwiches and coffees or lean on their local hero. The damage this can cause is not intention but the result is the same, sculpture repair becomes necessary. 

Bronze statues may seem robust, yet some parts can be particularly vulnerable.  Placing too much weight on slender features or welds can cause cracking or features to deform. This type of damage  often happens unintentionally. It is common during a public celebration when people climb statues. However, deliberate vandalism, or attempted theft, may also cause the need for statue repair or sculpture restoration.

Our aim when repairing a sculpture is to ensure: 

1. The feature is safe 
2. The repair is strong
3. It blends well with the original contours of the sculpture and matches the surrounding surface.

There is rarely only one way to repair a sculpture so we like to consider all the options before deciding which one might be most suitable in that location.

One issue that’s always at the front of our minds is how we might prevent this damage  re-occurring. Sometimes it’s impossible, but often by working with other services like security, gardeners and town wardens, prevention is achievable.

Any statue repair work we do is fully documented and made available to our clients.

We can repair large and small sculptures from epic public monuments to treasured fine art sculptures. Small bronzes come into our studio but large-scale works are repaired in situ.