Conservation Guidelines D e c o r a t i ve Plasterwo r k Forew ord Summary of Conservation This series of booklets has been produced by Principles the Department of the Environment to • Research prior to planning work increase awareness of the value of our • Minimum intervention - repair rather architectural heritage and to provide than replace information on the basic principles and • Respect the setting. methods of conservation and restoration. The titles in the series are listed on the back Summary of Conservation of each booklet. Procedur e • Research and analyse history of building These texts are not intended to be • Survey building and identify original comprehensive technical or legal guides. The material main aim is to assist architects, builders, • Plan work according to conservation owners and others,in understanding the principles guiding principles of conservation and • Use experts where necessary restoration. They will facilitate the • Record all work identification of the most common problems • Install maintenance procedures. encountered in heritage buildings,and indicate the best solutions. It should be appreciated that specialised aspects of conservation and restoration will require professional expertise and more detailed information. The Department acknowledges,with appreciation,the efforts of the authors of the individual booklets,the Irish Georgian Society who coordinated their production,the Conservation Advisory Panel established under the Operational Programme for Local Urban and Rural Development and all others involved. 1 Conservation Guidelines D e c o r a t i ve Plasterwo r k Introduction Far too often,restoration schemes are Many historic Irish buildings contain a wealth tendered out,and dictated by the cheapest and rich diversity of decorative plasterwork, price, without criteria of methods laid down dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. It as to how the work should proceed. The contributes significantly to Ireland’s cultural cheaper price may involve cutting corners or inheritance. Unfortunately, over the last 30 lowering standards. For example, restoring years a considerable amount of this work has an enriched cornice should involve the plain been lost or destroyed due to demolition of face run or cast,with the enrichment cast many Georgian and Victorian buildings. separately and bedded into the plain face afterwards. It might be more expensive to Recently, there has been a growing do this, but it would give the proper quality appreciation of the distinctiveness that of finish. Unfortunately, this does not always decorative plasterwork can give to a room. happen. Its presence is now used as an important selling point when period properties come Brief Histor y up for auction;indeed to remove such detail Most of the decorative plasterwork that was can only devalue a building. executed throughout Ireland,spans a period of over 200 years. While there are earlier At present there seems to be a distinct lack examples,such as in Ormonde Castle, of information on the conservation and Carrick-on-Suir (c.1585),most early surviving restoration of decorative plasterwork,due to examples date from around the 1720s,and the nonexistence of any organisation to continue up to the ear ly 1900s. A wide supply such information,and to set down variety of styles was produced,employing a standards of procedure and practice . number of methods and techniques to execute these decorative schemes in situ. This booklet aims at conveying a basic knowledge of what is involved in the effective Modelling conservation and restoration of decorative This method involves the modelling of ceiling plasterwork. Such work should not be and wall decoration free hand in situ. The undertaken on a D.I.Y. basis,as the enrichments were gradually built up, first restoration of historic plasterwork requires cored out in a mixture of coarse sand and the assistance of an expert. It is hoped that, lime. Over this was applied the stucco with the aid of this booklet, owners and mixture (lime putty and marble dust) which others will be able to identify the source of was then shaped into the desired detail with any problem,and be able to evaluate the modelling tools. For really high relief, methods proposed to solve them. armatures of wood laths and wire were embedded for support and strength. 2 Conservation Guidelines D e c o r a t i ve Plasterwo r k Excellent examples of this stucco wor k need to car ve the undercut. This new survive in the baroque and rococo ceilings concept brought about rococo and baroque dating from the early and mid 18th centur y. revivalist styles, although elaborate details It encompasses a wide repertoire of were confined mainly to public buildings. On figurative and abstract details, featuring the domestic scene details were more acanthus leaves,scrolls,human figures,birds, standardised. fruit,flowers,garlands and festoons. This method allowed for a deep undercut of Running in situ detail,and for a free flowing and naturalistic Virtually all plain face cornices, rib mouldings three dimensional form. on ceilings, and panel mouldings were run in situ,employing a method that has remained Casting unchanged throughout the centuries. Larger An alternative to modelling and carving in moulds,such as,cornices,had their profiles situ was the practice of taking a mould from built up in separate stages. Fixed onto the an original model in clay, into which plaster of wall beneath the cornice was a wooden Paris was then poured. When the cast was batten called a running rule which was used set,the mould was removed. This mould to steady the running mould or template. could be used again for the mass production This consisted of sheet metal,made in the of repetitive ornaments. final profile shape of the cornice, and it was run back and forth over the whole length of Moulds during this period were made from the cornice. plaster and being rigid would only allow for ornaments in low relief to be cast. These Early 20th century to present casts would then be car ved to bring out the From the early 20th century, the use of undercut. As the details were shallow and in decorative plasterwork gradually fell from low relief,the compositions would appear favour resulting in a steady decline in the elegant and refined;the inspiration was the quantity and quality of plasterwork being neo-classicism of Robert Adam. A typical produced. Even so, up until quite recently, neo-classical scheme would consist of urns, the traditional skills of running cornices,and sphinx,griffins,anthemion and corn husks, making and using moulds were still part of with plaques and panels depicting allegorical the training for those apprenticed to the scenes from classical antiquity. plastering trade. These skills still survive but only because of the needs of restoration By the 1850s,the use of gelatine moulds was projects, and such work is only undertaken introduced. This was a great advance as, by private individuals,conservation bodies or being pliable, it allowed the reproduction of under the auspices of the Office of Public detail in higher relief thus eliminating the Works. 3 Conservation Guidelines D e c o r a t i ve Plasterwo r k Since the early 1980s,there has been a with a wide variety of problems which may steady and growing demand for decorative demand several methods of plasterwork plasterwork in the domestic market. This has conservation and restoration. The owner resulted in the establishment of many firms should seek professional advice but will find it mass producing cornices and centrepieces. useful to have an understanding of the While this has promoted awareness,it has problems,and the possible work involved in done little to revive the genuine art form of the conservation/restoration process. stucco work,as the off-the-peg prefabricated mouldings are geared towards the 1. Overpainting commercial market. Once a decorative scheme for a room was completed,it usually received several coats of This type of work is completely inappropriate as paint. Over time paint tends to discolour, more a replacement or substitute for existing antique rapidly in urban areas. This results in the need plasterwork in a period building. for frequent repainting. Eventually, the fine detail of enrichments is obliterated under layers Very often,what is termed as ‘Georgian’ and layers of paint. This is a very common tends to be a hotchpotch of styles. On close problem and many owners do not realise just inspection,the enrichments are generally how crisp and beautiful the plasterwork remains crude, lifeless and indistinct,lacking essential under its many coats of paint. The paint used crispness and three dimensionality. included oil, made up of a mixture of linseed oil, Unfortunately, some Georgian houses in lead pigment and turpentine, or distemper Dublin have had their original plasterwor k made up with animal glue, size, lime and replaced with these artificial mouldings. The whiting bound together with water. Modern effect looks meaningless and sterile , taking no paint used includes gloss and emulsion paints. account of the form,function, character or period of the building. To expose the plasterwork detail once again, it is necessary to remove the paint. The Common Problems and method most employed today is to use an Solutions alkali based paint remover, which will remove The majority of period buildings contain a multiple layers of old and modern paint in certain amount of plasterwork, ranging from one go without causing any damage to the simple plain cornices to elaborately plasterwork surface. It is supplied in paste decorated ceilings,cornices and friezes. The form and is applied directly onto the surface condition and state of preservation depends of the paint with a trowel,paint brush or by on whether the building has been well cared spraying.