Rebuilding broken elements of a mirrored frame after a crate failed to protect it
A fragile, carved, 7-foot-tall Venetian frame was purchased by a private client. It broke apart in the crate during shipping from the auction house. The condition of the frame was not well understood and two poorly located screws securing it inside the crate failed at old repairs and in areas of insect damage. This turned one massive carved object into 6 large pieces and about 16 smaller broken fragments that bounced around inside the crate for some time. Fortunately the historic mirror glass was not badly damaged.
Like a puzzle we set the pieces all out on a large table. We consolidated the insect damage to strengthen the wood locally. We were able to rebuild, piece by piece, all of the broken elements into a stable whole.
Having all the pieces really helps. Even the gilding only required minimal repair in some locations since the large flakes could be reattached. At the request of the owner, we made a new backing frame for the piece to help with the installation and setup of the frame and oversaw the re-crating.