St. Anthony of Padua Conservation

History

This statue has been part of my wife's family devoptional for many generations.  The Greek lettering is a little surprising to us as my wife’s family was from the Philippines.  Her Dad’s grandmother (born c1910) was given this statue from her family as a child.  The Spanish Colonial Period (1565-1898) brought Catholicism to the Philippines.  I wonder how the Greek lettering relates to both the original inscription and  the history of the piece.

Images

Inscription

Behold the Cross of the Lord!

Begone, all evil powers!

The Lion of the Tribe of Juda,

The Root of David has conquered,

Alleluia!

Ιδού ο Σταυρός του Κυρίου!

Ξεκίνησαν, όλες οι κακές δυνάμεις!

Το λιοντάρι της φυλής του Ιούδα,

η ρίζα του Δαβίδ έχει κατακτήσει,

Αλληλούια!

Conservation Approach

I'm certain it's St. Anthony of Padua, not St Francis. In his left arm, he's holding the infant Jesus, most of which is missing except for a small part of his knees and parts of his legs.  His other missing hand most likely held a lily or a book. 

The style of the piece is so general, I can't confirm where it's from or when it was made. I have no idea why there would be any Greek writing on it, it makes no sense. 

I don't know the commercial value of artwork like this, but if it has any, any restoration work done to it can affect that. For example, if I bought a worn and peeling 200 year old Shaker cabinet and painted it to look new, it would lose its value. I think you should keep the statue as it is and treat it as an artifact. Let the object tell its own story, including the damage, like our own scars.  If you want to have some work done on it to stabilize the damage, you need to seek out a fine arts conservator, not a restorer like myself, who makes everything look new, who could advise you how much work can or should be done on it  and could work with the exact same materials as the original. 

I would look in Santa Fe New Mexico, where there is a large collector's market for these kinds of items, both old and new.  I don't know anyone there I can recommend, but the International Museum of Folk Art there must have a conservator they use that they can recommend.  

To stabilize the damage, I'd put it in something protective - like a shadowbox or under bell jar. They made special shrine boxes for holy statues, called Nichos, made of both tin and wood that you can find, both antique and new.  If it were mine, I'd have a wood carver remake St Anthony's missing hand, the missing parts of the Child Jesus, and put it in a shrine behind glass.  

Thank You

• Marek Czarneksi Restoration Expert Sepharic Restorations

• Julie Lauffenburger Director of Conservation, The Walters Art Museum

 Collections & Technical Research

• Karen L. Levenback Archivist/Librarian Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land

• Nicholas Farrell Operations Assistant American Institute for Conservation

Resources

• Guide for taking care of wooden artifacts:

 https://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/Wooden_Artifacts

• Guide for taking care of furniture:

https://f9f7df2c79cc13143598-609f7062990e04dd7dd5b501c851683c.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/aichaw_b3f839d0383f19388f5ccd870a18cd08.pdf

Conservators (recommended by the experts above)

• Fullick, Diane Baltimore, MD dianefullick@gmail.com (410) 467-7066

• Trusheim, Lori Baltimore, MD ltrusheim@verizon.net 443-564-9648

• Stromberg, Connie Bethesda, MD c.stromberg@verizon.net (301) 263-9298

Restorers (recommended by the experts above)

• Marek Czarneksi Meriden , CT marekstudio4b@hotmail.com Sepharic Restorations

• Diane Fullick Baltimore, MD dianefullick@gmail.com (443) 854-3500

• John Lee Annapolis, MD jgl@johngreenwaltlee.com www.preservationscience.wordpress.com

• Steven Pickman Silver Springs, MD www.spobjectsconservation.com

• Bruce Schuettinger Thurmont, MD bschuettinger@verizon.net (301) 865-3009 www.schuettinger.com

• Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana www.vaticanlibrary.va