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Room IV — 2001–2006, 2012–2016

Museum — Restoration

Some of the objects he restored had lain in the ground for more than three thousand years. Among them were Late Bronze Age bronzes from the burials at Lchashen, which surfaced when Lake Sevan was lowered in the 1950s. He also worked on gold artifacts, silver book covers and carved wooden doors.

At the History Museum of Armenia he first worked as a restorer and designed exhibition halls, and later returned to head the restoration department. Time wears an object down until it half forgets itself. Under the green of corrosion and the dust of centuries, the old form is never fully lost. In a painter's hands, restoration becomes a way of reminding it what shape it once had.

Drag the line across a photograph to see the object before and after restoration. Photographs side by side can be opened larger.

I

Standards and birds of the Late Bronze Age

Cast bronzes from the second half of the 2nd millennium BC, of the kind found in the burials at Lchashen on Lake Sevan: standards topped with animals, bird finials and pendants. Most reached the studio as shapeless lumps of earth and corrosion, with the animal still somewhere inside.

The stag

Late Bronze Age bronze standard with a stag above a forked base, after restoration
Late Bronze Age bronze standard with a stag above a forked base, before restoration

Standard with a stag

A stag with branching antlers stands on an open frame at the top of a shaft that ends in two hooked prongs. It came in as a single crust of earth and corrosion, the inventory number still painted on the shaft; cleaning gave back the antlers, the open mouth, the frame under the body and the curve of the hooks.

As found

Seen from above before cleaning: the antlers and head are only lumps of earth, pebbles and corrosion.

The head

After cleaning: the tines of the antlers, the eye and the open mouth.

The ibex

Bronze standard top in the shape of an ibex on a ring, as found

Ibex on a ring

The top of a standard: a wild goat with great curved horns stands on an open ring, with a short tang below to fix it on a shaft. As found it was coated in earth and pebbles; halfway through, the metal and the line of the body begin to show; restored, the eye, the beard, the collar and the oval cut-out in the body are back.

Before
After

The head

The horn and muzzle before and after cleaning.

The other side

The ibex from its right side.

The bull and two ibexes

Late Bronze Age bronze standard with a bull above two ibexes, after restoration
Late Bronze Age bronze standard with a bull above two ibexes, before restoration

Standard with a bull and two ibexes

A cast bronze standard: a bull stands on a ring at the top of the shaft, and two wild goats stand on its side arms. Standards like this were set on top of a pole or staff, probably for ceremonies. When it came to the studio it was green with corrosion, with red and white crusts in the hollows; cleaning gave back the bull’s heavy body, the curved horns of the ibexes and the openwork of the stand.

  1. 01In the hand

    The bull during cleaning: green and red corrosion, and dull grey where the crust has been taken off.

  2. 02Lifting the crust

    A layer of corrosion lifted away from the head, showing the shape underneath.

  3. 03In pieces

    The bull, the two ibexes and the base laid out separately before reassembly.

  4. 04Joined again

    The bull fixed back on its ring, the cracks in the body closed.

Birds

Bronze bird finial with a golden lattice inlaid on its back, after restoration
Bronze bird finial with a golden lattice inlaid on its back, before restoration

Bird finial with a golden lattice

Under the corrosion was a lattice of fine golden lines inlaid across the bird’s back, and golden lines around its head and beak.

Bronze finial in the shape of a bird of prey, as found

Bird finial, step by step

A bronze finial in the shape of a bird of prey, photographed three times: as it was found, halfway through cleaning, and finished. The hooked beak, the eye and the shape of the wings appear one after another, then the inlaid gold.

Bird finials

Three bird finials during treatment: one from above, one already cleaned to show its golden lattice, one still in its crust of earth.

The lattice

The gold lines are set into grooves cut in the bronze: a band over the head and beak, a collar, and a net over the back.

Face to face

Seen from the front: the gold band runs over the crown, and the ribbed collar of the shaft below.

Standard with a bird

A standard with a bird on top and a forked base like the stag’s, before cleaning.

Late Bronze Age openwork bronze bird pendant with triangles and meanders, after restoration
Late Bronze Age openwork bronze bird pendant with triangles and meanders, before restoration

Openwork bird pendant

A hollow bird with a suspension ring on its back, worn as a pendant. Cleaning opened up the pattern cut right through its body: triangles, a band of meanders and rows of small holes. Openwork birds like this are typical of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age in Armenia and the Caucasus.

II

A dagger in an openwork sheath

A bronze dagger still in its sheath, the sheath cast as an open lattice of lozenges. The museum tag on it reads 2049/139 and «Լճ. 58» — Lchashen, the excavations of 1958. It came to the studio as one black, swollen mass; underneath were the blade, the lattice, traces of the wooden lining of the sheath and, inside the pommel, plaited fibres.

  1. 01As found

    The grip and the top of the sheath under a thick black crust.

  2. 02Under the microscope

    Cleaning under magnification: the lattice comes free and the bronze blade shows through.

  3. 03The lining

    On the left the cleaned lattice; on the right, still in the sheath, the remains of its wooden lining.

  4. 04The tip

    Near the tip, small triangular openings appear in the lattice.

Restored

The dagger in its sheath after treatment, about 30 cm long: the flared pommel, the grip, the lattice of the sheath and, where the lattice is lost, the bronze blade.

Before
After

The pommel

The end of the pommel is divided in two by a bar, and both hollows are filled with plaited fibres, perhaps the remains of a cord. Cleaning kept the fibres in place and freed the rim around them.

III

An Urartian helmet

A bronze helmet of the kingdom of Urartu, 8th–7th century BC. Conical helmets like this, with bands of war chariots and horsemen and a sacred tree on the front, were found in large numbers at Karmir Blur (Teishebaini) in Yerevan, many inscribed with the names of Urartian kings. This one came to the studio cracked, crushed and in pieces. The fragments were cleaned one by one, fitted back together and held with temporary copper clips while the shape was rebuilt.

  1. 01As found

    The helmet cracked and dark with corrosion.

  2. 02Fragments fitted

    A section of the frieze, its pieces held with copper clips.

  3. 03The shape rebuilt

    The helmet reassembled and clipped while the joins set.

  4. 04Restored

    The finished helmet: a frieze of chariots between bands of zigzags.

Front of the Urartian helmet: two robed figures beside a sacred tree, lion-headed serpents above, after restoration
Front of the Urartian helmet: two robed figures beside a sacred tree, lion-headed serpents above, before restoration

The front of the helmet

Two robed figures stand on either side of a sacred tree, and above them arch serpents with lion heads, the scene that marks the front of Urartian helmets. Before cleaning these were only soft bumps in the metal.

Before
After

Two chariots

Two bands of the frieze on one fragment, each with a war chariot drawn by a galloping horse.

Before
After

Horseman, chariot and inscription

A horseman with a round shield rides ahead of a chariot. Along the lower rim run the signs of a cuneiform inscription; on Urartian helmets these usually name the king.

Before
After

Rider with a spear

A rider with a spear and shield, the horse’s legs stretched in a gallop.

Before
After

Head of a serpent

One of the lion heads of the serpents that arch over the front of the helmet.

Before
After

Body of a serpent

A piece of a serpent’s ribbed body, with scales along its edge.

IV

An Urartian shield

A bronze shield of Urartu, 8th–7th century BC. Urartian shields were hammered from a single sheet of bronze and decorated in repoussé with bands of walking animals; many carry a cuneiform inscription, usually dedicating the shield to the god Haldi in the king’s name, and many were found at Karmir Blur (Teishebaini). This one came to the studio in fragments. They were cleaned, set back in place on a temporary bed of pink wax, and the shield was rebuilt.

  1. 01Set in wax

    The fragments laid back in place, the gaps filled with pink wax to hold them while the shape is rebuilt.

  2. 02The frieze

    A band of walking animals comes back as the fragments are cleaned.

  3. 03The inscription

    Between the animals, a band of cuneiform signs.

  4. 04Restored

    The shield rebuilt: a raised centre with a boss, ringed by bands of walking lions and bulls, the wide rim still bent and torn.

The shield restored

The finished shield: the domed centre with its boss, the bands of animals, and the wide rim, still bent and torn where the metal was lost.

Lions and bulls

Close up, the repoussé bands: bulls walking in the outer band, lions with open jaws and curled tails in the inner one, each beast chased with fine lines for hair and muscle, between rows of raised dots.

A second shield

The front

A round bronze shield after treatment, with a boss in high relief at the centre.

The back

From behind, the relief shows in reverse, since it was hammered out from this side; across it lie the remains of the fittings, probably for the handle.

V

Urartian bracelets and ornaments

Bracelets and fittings from Urartu, 8th–7th century BC, ending in the heads of lions and serpents. Cleaning brought back the finest modelling: curls, teeth, eyelids, scales and even a few cuneiform signs.

Urartian bronze bracelet terminal in the shape of a roaring lion’s head, after restoration
Urartian bronze bracelet terminal in the shape of a roaring lion’s head, before restoration

Lion-head terminal

The end of a bronze bracelet in the shape of a roaring lion. Under the corrosion were the curls of the mane, the wrinkled muzzle and the teeth.

Urartian bronze terminal in the shape of a big cat’s head, after restoration
Urartian bronze terminal in the shape of a big cat’s head, before restoration

Feline-head terminal

Another terminal, the head of a big cat with heavy-lidded eyes and a broad muzzle, its features sharpened again by cleaning.

Before
After

Bracelet with a serpent’s head

The end of a massive bronze bracelet shaped as a serpent’s head, its body covered in scales. Near the head cleaning revealed a few cuneiform signs; Urartian bracelets of this kind often carry the name of a king.

Urartian bronze plaque in the shape of a walking lion, chased with curls, after restoration
Urartian bronze plaque in the shape of a walking lion, chased with curls, before restoration

Lion plaque

A walking lion cut from sheet bronze, its mane and body chased with fine curls, in the Urartian manner. Plaques like this decorated shields, quivers and furniture.

VI

Cylinder seals

Some objects are small enough to hold between two fingers.

Cylinder seals

Cylinder seals carved with slanting lines, before and after cleaning, and a modern impression rolled from one of them. Rolled across wet clay, a seal like this left its pattern as a mark of ownership or authority.