Many people who contact us have not had anything repaired before, and tend to ask the same handful of questions. Here are straight answers to them. If yours is not covered, please ask us – we are happy to talk it through.
We cannot quote without seeing the damage, because the price is driven by the work involved rather than by the object itself. The main factors are:
Send us photographs and we will estimate before any work starts. Here is what we need.
The visibility of the repair depends upon the type of object, nature of the damage, if this is a new damage or previous repairs are present.
We fill losses tight to the damaged area rather than over-painting the original surface, and tint fills to match the colour and opacity of the original body, where possible. What we will not do is disguise more of the object than is necessary. We agree the approach with you before starting.
Broadly: conservation is about stabilising an object and preventing further deterioration, using treatments that can be reversed later. Restoration is about returning the appearance of the object, filling losses and matching decoration.
In practice most private commissions involve both. The important part is that the materials are reversible, so nothing done today prevents someone treating the object again in fifty years. More on our approach.
Please treat a repaired piece as decorative. Restoration materials are not food safe, they are not heatproof, and they will not survive a dishwasher or prolonged soaking. A repaired teapot should be admired rather than used for tea.
Dust it with a soft dry brush or cloth and keep it out of direct sunlight, and it should stay as it left the studio for many years.
Usually, yes. Missing fingers, handles and other details can be modelled, moulded and cast, then decorated to match the original. Where a detail has no surviving counterpart to copy, we research the model so the replacement is accurate rather than invented.
Old repairs can generally be reversed and redone.
Almost certainly not. Failed and discoloured adhesive is one of the most common things we deal with. It can be reversed and cleaned off, and the piece re-joined.
It does add time, so it will cost more than it would have done. If it has happened, bring the piece in as it is rather than attempting to remove the glue yourself.
The studio is led by Sarah Peek, an Icon Accredited Conservator-Restorer, working as specialists in ceramics and related materials. Our clients include leading auction houses, national and international dealers, and organisations including the National Trust and the Henry Moore Foundation.
If the breakage has just happened, there are five things worth doing before you contact anyone – and one thing to avoid. Handling it carefully at this stage makes a real difference to how long the repair takes, how good the result is, and what it costs.