Dear Patrons and Friends,
What we like the most is to show how your support makes the magic of restoration possible. In the ongoing project we are covering today you will see how delicate the restoration of an Attic vase is and how many skills are behind the work of our restorers. We will also cover the Pope meeting with Vatican Museums Director Barbara Jattta, an encounter that testifies how strong is the bond between the Vatican and its museums.Thank you for making all of this possible.
8 VASES FROM THE ASTARITA COLLECTIONOngoing project
The eight Attic vases come from two showcases in Room XX of the Gregorian Etruscan Museum, which is a collection with more than 400 artifacts pertinent to the Astarita Collection. Mario Astarita, the name of the collector, donated the artifacts to Pope Paul VI in 1967.Since 2014 the artifacts have undergone a systematic review of their state of preservation and their previous restoration interventions, which had become obsolete over time.The majority of the problems concerned the materials that integrate the gaps often degradated because of cracks and detachments. Where the integrations still have a structural function, it is necessary to review the aesthetic criteria of presentation, which have evolved. In some cases, it was also necessary to disassemble the glued fragments because they did not match. In the worst of cases, there was no adequate seal because the adhesive no longer worked. Restorers used a method which reestablished a more uniform reading of the entire artifact. They finally treated integrations chromatically and adapted them to the general background color of the vases.
