Case Study
Project Overview
The Queen Victoria Memorial sculpture is placed at the centre of Queen’s Gardens in front of Buckingham Palace. The location was significant in view of the impending Royal Wedding and the requirement for us to clean the Memorial, prior to world media attention. The Memorial was dedicated in 1911 by George V and his first cousin, Wilhelm II of Germany, the two senior grandsons of Victoria. The sculptor was Sir Thomas Brock. It was completed with the installation of the final bronze statues in 1914. The surround was constructed by the architect Sir Aston Webb, from 2,300 tons of white marble. It is a Grade I listed structure. It has a large statue of Queen Victoria facing north-eastwards towards The Mall. The other sides of the monument feature dark patinated bronze statues of the Angel of Justice (facing north-westwards toward Green Park), the Angel of Truth (facing south-eastwards) and Charity facing Buckingham Palace. On the pinnacle, is Victory with two seated figures.
Key Successes
- Specialist cleaning of the Bronze statues and fountain reliefs to include removal of the active corrosion, re-patination and waxing.
- Careful conservation cleaning using poultices and the Doff system to the white marble surround walls and the main monument. Areas of re-pointing were completed in lime mortars as required following assessment.
- Clay modeling, marble carving and replacement of missing pieces
- Re-gilding of the statue of Victory atop the monument.
- Careful removal of previous early mortar/resin repairs and consolidation in lime mortars.
Gallery
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