Case Study
Artlab conservators commended for Ayers House restoration....
A montage of treatment images permission of Ayers House, National Trust funded museum.Click on the images for some soothing background music*
Built around 1855 Ayers House, the former home of Henry Ayers wealthy industrialist and politician, is the last of many grand mansions that lined North Terrace, Adelaide in the early days of the Colony. Put to a range of uses after Ayers death in 1897, it was restored to its former glory by the National Trust in 1970's.
Ayers had a sitting room built in the basement of the building as a refuge from the heat of the Australian summer. The elaborate painted decoration of the ceiling was in a good state of repair until a plumbing fault resulted in its flooding and led to flaking and peeling of the paint.
A team of Artlab paintings specialists painstakingly resecured each individual paint flake by applying a consolidant. To avoid repetitive strain problems, a large team worked in short rotating shifts over as four month period to complete the treatment. After consolidation of the peeling paint, areas of complete loss were retouched to match their surroundings.
The restoration work was recognised with a commendation in the 2005 Edmund Wright Heritage Award's category of Heritage Trades and Products, presented by Minister for Environment and Conservation the Hon. John Hill.
*Music provided by Adelaide's own "O'Carolan Quartet" C1994
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