Restoration of Minerva and Concordia statues
Minerva (wisdom) and Concordia (unity) were on the facade of the Hodshon house on the Spaarne in Haarlem. This was built in 1794 for Catharina Cornelia (“Keetje”) Hodshon by Amsterdam city architect Abraham van der Hart. In the 1980s, the statues were replaced by replicas. The originals were recovered from the General Cemetery in Haarlem. I received them soaking wet, they were covered in moss and were pretty rotten. It was up to me to restore them to their former state as much as possible.
Determining the type of wood used
After drying, I first determined the type of wood. This was pine. Then I cleaned the sculptures, glued the broken parts and made the missing parts from new wood.
Preserving as much of the original sculpture as possible
I took away as little of the original carving as possible when fitting new pieces of wood. The new wood was selected for wood direction and wood density as much as possible. I chose modern glue, because otherwise too little strength could be obtained.
Results
The restored Eendracht while being retrieved from my studio. The sculptures now stand in the entrance hall of Hodshon House.
Client: Hendrick de Keyser Association
Commission: Restoration of the sculptures Wisdom and Elegance
Year: 2010-2012
Details: The sculptures were restored to indoor quality. Their condition was too fragile to put them back outside on the roof.