Recovery and examination of sculpture group Fugitive Slaveby V. Beklemishev

Abstract

On the 26th of April 2010, while performing routine electrical work, a lost sculpture group of famous Russian sculptor Vladimir Beklemishev (1861–1920) titled ‘Fugitive Slave’ was found inside a wall of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia on the landing of the staircase to the second floor. This sculpture was created under the influence of the anti-slavery novel “Uncle Tom's Cabin” by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe and was presented at the World's Columbian exposition in Chicago in 1893, devoted to the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus. The sculpture was made from gypsum and coated with a covering that imitated bronze. At the moment of finding, the sculpture was heavily damaged and needed serious restoration, including repairing of the bronze imitation layer. This situation permitted us to do a detailed examination of the materials and techniques used in making this bronze-like covering. The sculpture was made by Beklemishev in Italy in 1891. At the time of writing, ‘Fugitive Slave’ has been restored to its former glory and can be admired in the State Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Studying the cross-sections of tiny fragments of bronze-like covering from different parts (bright and dark) showed that the coating was multilayered. Different parts of the covering also show large differences in structure. Pigment composition of each layer was investigated by SEM-EDS (Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy). Relatively pure copper filings and scrapings were applied to imitate a solid bronze layer. The top thin layer, which imitated a bronze patina, was made of a copper arsenic paint. GC/MS analysis of the fatty acids showed the presence of drying oil. The presence of erusic acid, a biomarker, showed presence of the Brassicaceae seed oil. A small amount of pinaceous resin and dammar were discovered as well. The top thin layer, however, seemed to contain linseed oil (based on fatty acids ratios - A/P = 1.5; P/S=1.6). Besides that, the surfaces of the dark parts were covered with a very thin layer of beeswax. It is believed that this is the result of conservation treatment, rather than applied by Beklemishev himself. PCA analysis of the selected ion monitoring chromatograms of the proteinaceous materials showed the presence of egg in practically all layers of bright fragments and in the bottom layers of the dark fragments. According to literature, a mixture of drying oil, egg and resins was often used for priming in polychromic paints on stone in Italy. Since Beklemishev made ‘Fugitive Slave’ during his time there, it is possible that he used these materials. However, looking at the middle layers of the dark fragments, evidence for casein as proteinaceous ingredient was also found. Since the layers where casein was found are thicker, the presence of casein indicates that a casein-oil mixture was possibly applied as binding to get more pasty paint films. This way one may conclude that different binding materials were used for different layers. These analyses give a great insight into the way imitation of bronze of this sculpture was made and allow us to learn more about this specific technique.