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Discover the range of different techniques conservators used during our landmark conservation project.
From 2011 to 2016, we undertook a monumental project called Opening up the Soane to restore and improve parts of the Museum that weren’t previously seen by the public.
Completing this project required the expertise of a team of researchers, conservators and craftspeople. Using footage from a three-part series that was made in 2019, we have focused on some of these techniques, the skills involved, and the people who practiced them. On each page, you can watch a clip detailing the process and learn more about how the work was completed to bring this award-winning project to fruition.
You can also watch the whole series online.
The series and these pages were made possible thanks to the generosity of The Elizabeth Cayzer Charitable Trust.
How a pair of lost picture frames were recreated using expert frame-making techniques.
How lost panels of a stained-glass window in the Shakespeare Recess were recreated, and existing panels were restored.
How a lost section of a cork model of the ruins of Pompeii in the Model Room was recreated.
How conservators searched for and uncovered the original wallpaper in the Private Apartments.
How the wallpaper in the Private Apartments was researched, and hand printed using traditional techniques.
How a plaster ceiling in the Tivoli Recess, lost in the 19th century, was remade.
How a delicate Plaster of Paris model damaged by a bomb blast was meticulously restored.
How a lost painted glass window was recreated and assembled.