Here, founder, conservator and restorer, Imogen Paine offers her expertise on the dos and don'ts of looking after your sculpture and works of art, and when it is time to rather seek the professional help of a restorer, highlighting examples she has encountered over the years and consequentially restored. 

Have you invested in a wonderful piece of sculpture for your home or garden, and are now wondering how to look after it? Here I offer my advice on how to keep it looking its best for years to come, or if needed, how to improve its appearance.

It is probably easiest to consider some of the various media rather than particular sculptures, as whether a mouse or a monument, the same techniques can often apply. Here I am considering decorative sculpture not Donatello, and looking at cleaning methods rather than suggesting anyone tries their hand at carving new marble fingers or casting new bronze elements.

Bronze

Looking a little dusty or dull? Bronze can be washed with warm water and a mild detergent using soft brushes overall and something a little stiffer to work thick dust out of finer details of the casting. It will look worse when it dries, but don’t panic! When completely dry use a soft Mop Brush (Conservation Resources) to apply a light coat of wax. I have used Antiquax since my Sladmore Gallery days and is available online or from John Lewis.

If the bronze is warm when applied, the wax will spread much more easily and get into all the detailing. You will need to leave it for a bit and then buff with a long handled Stately Home Brush (Conservation Resources), and finally a soft cloth. Never use Brasso or similar… I have seen too many bronze figures polished back to bare metal as a result, as all patina has been stripped away.

If the surface is already in good condition, you will just need regular maintenance, keeping it dust free. This is the key to stopping a build up which will ultimately dull the surface. If dust collects in the detailed areas, it will absorb any tiny amount of damp and can cause all sorts of problems, even verdigris - a bright bluish-green encrustation or patina formed on copper or brass by atmospheric oxidation. The latter should be treated professionally before the patina suffers too much damage. If a bronze has an overall verdigris patina from being outside however, this can have a gorgeous character. I have a sculpture in my house by Geraldine Knight, which funnily enough was called Green Sheep, designed with a green patina which was not to my taste, however it was left outside by the previous owner, and I now love the effect. 

Of course, it is a matter of taste, and some people might want to bring an outdoor piece back into the house and return it to its original state. This can be done with waxes, without stripping off the original patination, so is effectively reversible.

White Marble

Marble is a far trickier prospect and ideally should be treated professionally as the condition of the surface and the nature of the dirt can vary enormously and each should be treated specifically. It is also very easy to make something like a bust look worse by attempting to wash it down but by not doing it properly. Again, if an indoors sculpture, keeping dust from building up is key, or if it is outdoors, then try to clear up all bird droppings etc.

If possible, never site a marble sculpture under plants, flowers or trees. They can look lovely and there can be a mistaken idea that a tree for example might provide protection, but pollen, sap, twigs and branches, and even more bird droppings will do it no good at all.

Water and mild detergents again will do no harm but never use bleach, Vim etc. Spirits of Salt is the horror of horrors. It might make it go white but it will destroy the surface. You can tell if a piece of marble has been acid cleaned, as it looks as if it has cling film stretched tightly over the surface – hideous! The original surface ‘skin’ of a marble in good condition should be preserved above all. Light can reflect and play over the carved surface bringing the sculpture to life. I advocate cleaning for this reason as a sculpture that doesn’t look particularly dirty is often in fact very dirty and can really be brought to life, especially with the addition of a coat of Renaissance Microcrystalline Wax.

If your marble sculpture should suffer a break and you want to mend it yourself, use Superglue, but never Araldite. The latter discolours badly with time and can stain the marble each side of the break, making it much harder to lose that line if the mend is ever tackled professionally in the future.

Garden Sculpture and Ornament

White marble has been considered above but note that is can only deteriorate over time if kept outside. If any cracks are apparent these must be addressed. The freeze and thaw process through a winter will make these worse and losses could occur. If a white marble sculpture has been outside for some length of time but is not weathered beyond redemption, it is not too late to seek help to restore it and bring it back inside, thus conserving it.

Stone can be a better option as some patina of plant growth can be very desirable and most large stone sculpture as a rule was intended largely for outdoors. If it ends up just looking too black it can be cleaned to show the colour of the stone without overcleaning it.

If too clean, or a new piece and some patina is desired, brush with Tomorite tomato food and this will speed up growth. Ash and yoghurt was the old fashioned way.

Don’t be tempted by the power hose – it could blast off some digits or badly pit a surface before you have even realised.

Of course sculpture comes in many other materials such as alabaster, terracotta and plaster for example which cannot be covered here but for all indoor pieces the mantra has to be Dust! Dust! Dust! Make sure to get into all nooks and crannies, and also avoid most household cleaning products.