ENJOYING THE RESTORATION PROCESS

THE RESTORATION OF A 100 YEAR OLD ROSARY

About a year ago I did a blog about restoring a 100 year old Catholic Rosary. I thought I would revisit this subject, as it is close to my heart.

It all started with an email from a fellow artisan in the North of England. She had been contacted by someone in France regarding an heirloom which was in a devastating condition. As my fellow artisan did not do the same work as I, she forwarded all the information to me, and I got in contact with the client in France. After some discussion, it was decided that the restoration would go ahead. It arrived in due course, and as I opened it I saw before me the task which lay ahead. It was in a very poor state. It looked even worse than the picture which I had received by email.



This is the picture that accompanied the original email from France

It had belonged to my Client's Mother-in-Law. As you can see it is in a very sorry state. It had been found waterlogged, which had made the links weld together through oxidisation. The Crucifix was also in a bad way, and it was not until it had been carefully cleaned, that I found a vial on the reverse, which would have held Holy Water. It was, alas, broken, but still held securely inside the Crucifix. The Centre was also water damaged, showing signs of oxidisation. The beads had the corrosive material inside the beading holes, where the wire had once been. Everything needed very careful, and sympathetic cleaning, which took quite some time. Also, some of the original beads were missing, so this created yet another problem, that of not enough beads to complete the Rosary. The client then forwarded yet another Rosary to me, also having belonged to her Mother-in-Law, of equal age, but also incomplete. It was with some of these beads that the Rosary could now be completed.

 

After meticulous cleaning of the Centre

The cleaning of the Rosary parts was a painstaking process. Each bead had to be cleaned individually inside and out to make sure all the oxidisation had been removed. The chain was discarded as unusable. The Centre, however, was quite a revelation. As I started to clean it, the image revealed itself to me, and it was astounding! There was a relief of The Madonna on one side, and though indistinct, on the other side I think it was St. Joseph. Until it had been cleaned, neither image was truly visible.

The Crucifix revealed itself very slowly through the cleaning process. I had no idea that the Corpus Christi was brass, I thought it had all been made from the same brown stone. It was only when I eventually got to the delicate process of using my Q-Tips with the cleaning solution, did it finally come to light. The oxidisation had been quite severe on the surface, but the cleaning process was successful, likewise with the reverse, revealing the glass vial for the Holy Water.





After cleaning and remaking (front)

After cleaning and remaking (reverse)

So this is the Rosary on its completion. The old chain was replaced, after discussions with the Client, with antiqued copper. The brown beads, and the Cross are made from a brown agate, but the white translucent beads are made from glass. The copper links going through each bead were made by myself, and had to be done really carefully so as not to shatter the already aged agate and glass. Finally finished, and reassembled, it looked beautiful, but still showed genuine signs of age and use as befits a restoration.

My Client was very pleased with the results and sent me this email with permission to use it in the promotion of my work. Personal details have been omitted.

"Good morning Louise,

The rosary has arrived, [...] I am delighted with the rosary, I think the copper wire really enhances it, and the beads look much better with a hundred years of hard use cleaned off. I am very pleased with the white translucent beads as well. They are not too obtrusive, but enhance the colour and delicacy of the brown beads. The essence of my mother-in-law's rosary has been retained, [...] It has been rendered fit for another 100 years' use.

All the best, and many thanks for taking on the rosary restoration, [...]"

Although I have repaired Rosaries before, this is the oldest Rosary that I have not only repaired, but restored. It was a pleasure and a privilege for me to be entrusted with such a task, and the results were more than gratifying. Moreover, my Client was also very satisfied.

Well, that is all for now,

Best Wishes,
Louise
Le Rule Originals
www.leruleoriginals.co.uk