Terracotta Bust Conservation

Through scanning and 3D-printing, we reconstructed the losses to this 18th century terracotta bust.

  • Full colour scanning of the bust

    Full colour scanning of the bust

  • Modelling the wax fill on the 3D printed surrogate

    Modelling the wax fill on the 3D printed surrogate

  • Tinted plaster cast of lost area

    Tinted plaster cast of lost area

  • Montage of finished piece

    Montage of finished piece

This terracotta bust of a child with marble and brass socle dates from around 1787, and was modelled by Jean-Antoine Houdon. 

It had suffered significant losses and the missing pieces were not provided with the bust.  In addition, there were several areas on the hair where a foreign material (possibly paint) was adhered to the surface of the terracotta.

We were commissioned to replicate these losses and reconstruct the bust which presented a challenge as the terracotta was fragile and easily discoloured by handling. We achieved this by:

  • Scanning the bust in order to produce a 3D-printed plastic model 
  • Using the model as a surrogate to sculpt the replacement sections, the larger pieces all modelled in wax 
  • Tinting the reconstructed sections with earth pigments to match the colour of the terracotta
  • Coating areas that would be in contact with the bust with a 5% solution of Paraloid B72 adhesive, to reduce the movement of moisture between the plaster and the terracotta
  • Adhering the reconstructed sections to the original bust
  • Filling any gaps accordingly and tinting with acrylic paints
  • Retouching with restoration glaze to match the colour and patina of the original
  • Adhering the reconstructed sections to the original bust
  • Removing foreign material manually using a scalpel under magnification

In this way, the restoration could proceed with minimal handling and risk to the original object.