Early 19th C Frame

This early 19th Century Regency frame had numerous losses to the composition ornament, and was also very dirty.

Before and After

Here are some before and after photos of this fantastic swept frame, a really exceptional example of a late 19th Century Louis XV Rococo revival frame, probably French made. The frame was from my stock, although the restoration work was done by another restorer/framer as it needed doing quickly and I could not fit it in my current heavy workload. In the photos the restored frame looks very bright, this is more to do with the light when I took the photos, in reality the frame looks like it is in excellent original condition with natural wear and antique patina, although the gilding has cleaned up very well too.

20th Century Master Framemaker

Here is another example of a Robert Sielle frame, I posted about this framemaker some time ago here: Gesso Consolidation

This frame is typically bold and interesting in shape and design, a reverse profile with flat inner section and deep scoop outer. It's in need of some filling and tidying up around the edges. I think it's really good that the original frame is being kept with the painting it was made for, and not discarded for something else. I dread to think how many of Sielle's frames have been removed in favour of something more fashionable, which is a great shame.

People Keep on Damaging Frames

Restored Ornate Candelabra

This very ornate and fabulous looking 18th Century carved candle holder had numerous bits and pieces missing. It had also been overpainted so needed complete restoration.

Finished Vintage Frame Repair

A finished frame repair, some earlier photos can be seen in a previous post.

Corner Repair in Progress

Restored Watercolour Frame

This 19th Century watercolour frame has just been repaired and restored. It had numerous losses to the ornament, and had been overpainted, it had also been gilded a couple of times. It has been cut down to fit a smaller painting, the composition missing has been replaced, and it has been regilded.

Broken Rebate

This antique slip (re-gilded at some point with metal leaf) has been damaged during shipping, pressure on the back of the painting has caused the rebate (rabbet) to split. 

Oval Carved Frame

Another frame that is for a Georgian villa restoration project. The frame is carved, one of a pair, the top of the bow was missing so a new section has been carved. It will be finished to match the existing dark colour, a few other areas also need some repair work, there is a missing section at the bottom, and some splits in the timber. Splits are a common problem on oval and round antique frames as they are made from a number of different sections of wood to get the shape, these joints are under stress as the timber moves over the years so will eventually open up.

18th Century Carved Mirror Frame

This very nice 18th Century mirror frame has come in for some repairs. It is carved and some missing sections of carving have been replaced by a student/apprentice carver. The frame has a water gilded finish which is in relatively good condition, I will gesso and gild the repairs, give some areas a light clean, and do some securing of some loose sections. It will eventually hang in a Georgian villa that is also being restored.

Four Broken Corners

An early 20th Century continental Louis XV style swept frame that has damage to all four corners. The frame has also been over painted.

Rush Repair

Flaking gilding

This mid to late 20th C repro gilded English hollow frame, or Morland frame as they are sometimes called, has large sections of the oil gilding flaking away on the hollow section. This could be for a number of reasons, the rest of the gilding seems fine, just this one section that has failed.

Centre repair

The finished repair to a damaged swept frame centre ornament.

Last damaged frame...

The last damaged frame to come into the workshop today, was this Victorian Neoclassical frame. It has numerous small areas that need repairing, but overal the condition is relatively good.

Another damaged frame

This Scottish made antique swept frame has various areas of damage to the composition ornament. I like the design of this frame, especially the large leaves at the centres which are more realistic/organic looking than many designs.

Frame damage

A swept frame with typical transit/shipping damage, one of the centres has been knocked off. Unfortunately the missing section was lost, which is a shame as it would have saved some time and made the repair much easier. 

Composition repairs

2 restored antique frames