Restoration of a Regency mantel clock in brown tortoiseshell and brass marquetry on an oak frame. Without its bronze mounts, this type of furniture loses its grandeur. But when it regains its bronze fittings, knowing that the function of this type of furniture is to tell the time, the symbols that compose them take on their full meaning. Fame on the escapement and the eagle on the door are perfect examples.
There renowned Fama was originally an allegorical Greek deity personifying public or social recognition. She is also known as Pheme (Greek Φήμη) or Fama, among the Romans. A winged goddess, daughter of Gaia, she possessed many eyes and mouths, allowing her to learn the secrets of mortals and divulge them. These characteristics made her a feared and respected deity. She is the messenger of Zeus or the assistant of Hermes; this latter attribute was particularly emphasized by the Romans, who popularized and expanded upon her character.
The eagle is the emblem of Zeus and often the god himself (when he disguises himself as an eagle to abduct Ganymede on Mount Olympus). It is the eagle that carries Jupiter's thunderbolts. It holds the Lightning Bolt (or the serpent) in its talons, for its claw strikes are like lightning and it swoops down on its prey like a thunderbolt. It is also the bearer of light, the messenger.
State of affairs report
The clock face has some significant missing parts and numerous, even completely detached, brass components. The structural elements show considerable detachment and are deformed in places.
The Restoration
The restoration work involved removing the loose brass elements and soaking them in a bath before reattaching them. The missing brass pieces were cut out using a marquetry easel before being repositioned. The case and structural elements were reattached with fish glue. All the veneered surfaces and marquetry were rehydrated by vacuum-sealed glue infiltration.
Then the removed and new elements were glued back together with hot poison glue under vacuum.
The brass parts were then deoxidized by a solvent gel before being cleaned with an eraser. Finally, a thin layer of colorless shellac varnish was applied.
