PDF of project data sheet.

KREILICK CONSERVATION, LLC
ARCHITECTURE • SCULPTURE • OBJECTS
TITLE:
Blessed Mary (Our Mother of Good Counsel) (ca. 1954)
ARTIST:
LOCATION:
Daprato Statuary Company
Villanova University, Villanova, PA
CLIENT:
Villanova University
TEAM MEMBERS:
Kreilick Conservation, LLC
Atelier Art Services
PROJECT STATUS:
Completed November 2012
In April 2011, Kreilick Conservation, LLC was engaged by Atelier Art Services to assist in the
relocation and conservation of Blessed Mary by Daprato Statuary Company. It is a 7 ft. 6 in. tall,
white Carrara marble statue depicting a standing Virgin Mary cradling the baby Jesus. The statue
stands in The Grotto, which was relocated as part of Phase II of the Transformation of the
Campus Landscape initiative, in which Blessed Mary is the focal point of a new amphitheater.
Before treatment, the marble surfaces exhibited atmospheric soiling, biological growth, gypsum
crusts, bird guano, and insect activity. The marble showed signs of cracking, along the base and
on Mary’s proper right little finger. Removal of Mary’s halo revealed a wooden anchor/plug.
Atelier Art Services de-installed the sculpture and transported it to Kreilick Conservation’s
studio. There the stone was cleaned with several methods, the most effective being steam vapor
cleaning. Areas with cracking were patched with colored-matched restoration mortar. To
strengthen the stone, the surfaces were consolidated. Conservators epoxied a new stainless steel,
internally threaded anchor for Mary’s halo. Kreilick Conservation assisted in the sculpture’s reinstallation, and provided a new stainless steel support rod.
skreilick@kreilickconservation.com
www.kreilickconservation.com
519 TOLL ROAD • ORELAND, PA 19075
OFFICE: 215-572-6616