Abstract
The National Museums Scotland Madonna and
Child project sought to uncover and document
the history of a fine polychrome wood carving attributed to The Master of the Gualino St
Catherine and to prepare it for display. A new
body of knowledge has been assembled by
the interdisciplinary team. The conservation
treatment was informed by this work and led
to further discoveries: the removal of overpaint
exposing a previously hidden underdrawing.
The ethics of the treatment decisions, including
the removal of the Christ Child’s 1960s’ fingers required team dialogue and was opened up for
the public to respond to in a series of blogs.
The discovery of a rich polychromy including
gold and glazed tin has led to further plans to
produce a 3-D colour reconstruction. The collaborations developed during this project will
facilitate future joint ventures for polychrome
sculpture in Scottish collections.
Child project sought to uncover and document
the history of a fine polychrome wood carving attributed to The Master of the Gualino St
Catherine and to prepare it for display. A new
body of knowledge has been assembled by
the interdisciplinary team. The conservation
treatment was informed by this work and led
to further discoveries: the removal of overpaint
exposing a previously hidden underdrawing.
The ethics of the treatment decisions, including
the removal of the Christ Child’s 1960s’ fingers required team dialogue and was opened up for
the public to respond to in a series of blogs.
The discovery of a rich polychromy including
gold and glazed tin has led to further plans to
produce a 3-D colour reconstruction. The collaborations developed during this project will
facilitate future joint ventures for polychrome
sculpture in Scottish collections.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | ICOM-CC 18th Triennial Conference Preprints, Copenhagen, 4–8 September 2017 |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |