The Sandham Crucifix
Many people may have visited the Sandham Memorial Chapel at Burghclere in Hampshire.
It is decorated with paintings in a fresco style by the renowned 20th century British artist Sir
Stanley Spencer and depicts his Great War work both as a hospital orderly and at Salonika.
The crucifix stands on the altar and is a small but central focal point for visitors.
It comprises a wooden cross covered with panels of nacre (mother of pearl), engraved and carved with scenes of
Christ crucified, Mary his mother and evangelical symbols etc. Some time ago, when the chapel was less guarded,
visitors removed nacre pieces of the Cruciifx as souvenirs and revealed the underlying wood.
Simon was asked to restore the lost nacre as sympathetically as possible.
This involved cutting the losses from small nacre sheets of the correct colour and species,
engraving them and removing the polish from them (which was too shiny) and adhering these on to the Crucifix.
The photos below show the crucifix before conservation (on the left) and after (on the right).
For more details about what we can do for you, or for a quote, please
contact:
enquiries@natural-history-conservation.com
We
are members of the United Kingdom Institute for Conservation of Historic and
Artistic Works