Historic New England brought in this pair of exquisitely carved Regency frames which had once adorned two portraits in the Otis House in Boston, MA. They had been removed for obvious reasons. The once beautiful surface had deteriorated to such a severe degree that there was hardly any indication of it once having been gilded. Structurally the frames had several loose corners, and there were many breaks and losses in the delicate carving around the outer edges. Several of the prominent flowers had fallen off, a few having been replaced with inferior duplicates.
They required a full restoration. First, the gesso was softened and carefully removed, stripping them back down to their original carved surface. The knotty wood hinted at european origins, as the Americas at the time had an abundance of clear carving wood. Despite the rough nature of the wood, the carving was detailed and meticulous, some of the most precise this framer has seen.
One of the frames had oak hardbacks added in a recent attempt to pull a bow out of the side pieces. Its corners had been stabilized by this effort, and it was doing the job intended, so it was left intact. The second frame had its corners pulling open, and the original splines were unfortunately not dovetailed enough to maintain their grip. This frame had to be entirely disassembled and the corners rejoined with fresh dovetailed splines. In order to maintain the original site measure and accomodate the twisting shape of the wood spacers were inserted in each corner.
Fresh wood was glued into place anywhere there were losses, and then carved back to meet the original design. 28 pieces in total, along with 16 replacement flowers were carved, as well as two full lengths of the interior ogee section and a few minor repairs elsewhere.
This all accomplished the frames were then primed, gessoed, and sanded. Punchwork in two patterns was added surrounding the carving on the frames interior. A sand texture was added to the panel near the site, its texture determined by samples removed from the original finish. The whole was treated with yellow bole, and the prominent carving and details water gilded and burnished. The remainder was oil gilded, and the whole treated to a relatively minor degree of finishing.
This fine pair of frames again ensconce their original portraits on the walls of the Otis House.
Tuveson Studios 