SPECIALIST CLEANING Horses For Courses
Antique Bronze Ltd, the sculptural and restoration specialists, tell us all about how they helped to preserve Althea Wynne’s ‘Trio of Horses’ sculpture in the City of London from the harsh effects of its urban environment.
“For want of a Nail the Shoe was lost; for want of a Shoe the Horse was lost” – Benjamin Franklin
Despite the January frost, Antique Bronze Ltd, specialists in sculptural conversation and restoration, began work on restoring Althea Wynne’s spirited trio of horse sculptures in Minster Court, City of London. The aim of Antique Bronze Ltd’s work was to prevent the sentiment of Benjamin Franklin’s prophecy from coming true by intervening before the original patina on these exceptional sculptures had been entirely lost.
Antique Bronze is a team of specialist cleaners who carry out sculptural and architectural restoration across the country, working with local councils throughout London, as well as in the likes of Leeds, Warrington, Newcastle and Birmingham. Antique Bronze was chosen to undertake this project as it is known for its knowledge and expertise in contemporary patination. The company has been commissioned in the past to work with artists such as Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Wendy Taylor and has benefited immensely from their wealth of experience with contemporary sculpture.
London is not short of dramatic horse sculptures – from the rearing fury of Piccadilly's Horses of Helios Fountain, to the tenacious bravery of Boadicea's horses which pull her chariot – but
Althea Wynne’s magnificent trio at Minster must be acknowledged as among the greats. Althea created these site specific sculptures for Minster Court when it was built in the early 1990’s. As a nod to the financial district they belong to, they are affectionately known as Sterling, Dollar and Yen. A love of horses and an ability to translate their innate beauty in bronze made her the perfect choice for this commission. Tragically, Althea died in a car accident with her husband in 2012 while working on another equestrian commission for Windsor Great Park.
The sculptures required cleaning and conservation work by Antique Bronze in order to bring them back to a stable condition and return the life to their surfaces. They had suffered from the outdoor, urban environment that they find themselves in and were in need of renovation in order to return them to their former glories, as Lucy Branch, Director of Antique Bronze explained: “Their beautiful and delicate patina had begun to corrode, streaking had formed and distinct
patches of disfiguring corrosion had begun to develop.
“Our aim was to use what remained of their original finish as a guide and harmonise some of the more stark surface changes. It is impossible to prevent bronze from changing when it lives outdoors. Our job is to minimise change and allow the public to enjoy the beauty of these special pieces long into the future.”
London-based Antique Bronze Ltd has also worked on other equestrian sculpture around the city, including the Horses of Helios fountain in Piccadilly, Boadicea on Westminster Bridge and Charles I in Whitehall, while other high profile contracts across the capital include Nelson’s Column, Cleopatra’s Needle, St Paul’s Cathedral, the British Library and Selfridges.
www.antiquebronze.co.uk
twitter.com/TomoCleaning
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