Restoration of the Church Gilded Wall Icon Case

Abstract

A huge number of church decorative and applied art monuments, which lost their original appearance during the years of timelessness and persecution of religion, need competent, scientifically based conservation and restoration, which will prolong the life of these monuments and revive them for contemporaries and descendants. The article is devoted to the restoration of two gilded frames of a kiot (icon case) with mastic stucco ornament in the neoclassical style of the late 19^th century. The study subject was wooden gilded frames of kiots with mastic decoration in the neoclassical style. The project purpose was to return the exposition form to the church decorative and applied art object—the kiot (icon case), which lost it as a result of a prolonged violation of storage and operation conditions. In preparation for the restoration work, a study of the theoretical works of Russian and foreign specialists in this field was conducted. In the course of the work, complex techniques of conservation, restoration and recreation, associated with local losses of stucco decoration, the presence of solid late paints of the author’s finishing of the kiot (icon case) with bronze paint, were applied. The article is intended both for professionals who are directly involved in the restoration of church cultural heritage works, fund and museum exposition curators, guides, and art historians.