TRADITIONAL CUT STONE LTD.

TRADITIONAL CUT STONE LTD.
Hand Crafted Masterpieces in Natural Stone
A Limestone Reproduction
Published In:
Stone World
The leading voice of the stone industry
Date:
Spring 2004
TCS Article 004
After more than a century of deterioration, the Lord Nelson
monument in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, received a new,
hand-carved, Indiana limestone statue
By Tammy Mastroberte
Stone World
Residing 50 feet in the air on top of a neoclassic monument in
Cartier Square since its completion in 1809, the Lord Nelson
statue in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, was beginning to deteriorate.
Despite the efforts to sustain it, the statue was finally deemed
beyond repair, and steps were taken to find a suitable replacement.
"In the 1980s, the statue was taken down and sprayed with a
polyester resin to seal it, but this kept the moisture in, and did
not allow it to breath, so it began to break and explode," said
architect Julie Boivin of the City of Montreal. " It was coming to
the point where it was actually dangerous."
Originally constructed using British Coade stone, a popular
artificial stone in the 18th and early 19th century, a search
began for a material that could withstand the freeze/thaw
cycles of winter. The result – Indiana limestone – was chosen
for a variety of reasons.
"We looked up everything from cast concrete to metals, and
the stone was chosen because of the track record that Indiana
limestone has for outdoor monuments, and colour wise it
matched [the original] fairly well," said conservator Trevor
Gillingwater of Architectural Masonry Conservation in
Montreal.
Photo: 1. Hand-carved from a block of Indiana limestone,
the Lord Nelson statue in Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
replaced the deteriorated original 1809 structure on
the top of the mountain in Cartier Square.
TRADITIONAL CUT STONE LTD.
Hand Crafted Masterpieces in Natural Stone
A Limestone Reproduction
TCS Article 004
Additionally, the column that holds the statue was originally
Another aspect that was discussed was the use of a new material.
created using a Montreal limestone, and it is still standing
Since the British Coade stone was a fired clay product, its appearance
today. "The column is one of the oldest in North America," said
differed from the natural limestone. "The original is very smooth
Gillingwater. Although the British Coade stone ornamentation
and has a plastic look," said Gillingwater. "When you work with
was replaced in 1870 with limestone, the original 1809
monument survived.
Preparing for the job
Because the monument and statue are historical structures,
the new statue had to be a mirror image of the original. "We
had to do an exact replication," said Boivin. "We could not correct,
invent or interpret anything. Just make a straightforward copy."
However, due to the severe deterioration of the original statue,
certain areas such as the upper body medals and garments
were not very clear. According to Gillingwater, this was the
most important part of the statue, and historical research was
necessary to alleviate any doubt.
"The upper part of the body had to be historically correct
because that is how it was in the neoclassical time," he said.
"It’s very precise, and even the buttons have to be exact. I
researched and made photocopies, and we did a bi-weekly
critique to see what did not look right, and answer any questions."
According to Gillingwater, one of the questions that arose during
those meetings was concerning the boots found on the original
statue. "Nelson’s feet looked like he had the same boot on for
both, but that is how he would have been sculpted back then
because shoes didn’t have a right and a left," he said. Because
the intent was to produce an exact copy of the original, this
detail was left unchanged, and the new statue was carved the
same way.
Photo: 2. Working from a 95-cubic-foot block, the sculpting process began by drilling
holes and using plugs and feathers to split it down to the desired size, according to
Richard Carbino of Traditional Cut Stone Ltd., in Toronto, Canada.
TRADITIONAL CUT STONE LTD.
Hand Crafted Masterpieces in Natural Stone
A Limestone Reproduction
stone, you use tool marks to create detail, but we kept the
smooth finish." Although minor adjustments had to be made to
the proportions of the statue to accommodate the limestone,
the detailing was kept intact.
Sculpting the statue
Working from a 95-cubic-foot block, sculptor Lawrence
Voaides of Traditional Cut Stone Ltd., in Toronto, Canada, created
two separate pieces with a 4- x 4-foot base. Jointed at the
waist, the entire statue is 9 feet high, and it took three months
to complete. "Three people worked on it, and when you start
from a square block, there is a lot of chipping," said Voaides.
"Almost one-third was chopped down from the original block,
and after you take off the big chunks, you use a combination
of air and hand tools to reduce the stone to its finished size.
Using the original statue as a guide, every aspect presented a
new hurdle to surpass, according to Voaides. "Everything is a
challenge," he said. "You have to match the model, and just a
simple angle in the eye will change the expression, or a
change in the mouth will create a different character."
All of the sculpting was done with a hammer, chisel and air
machine and the pantograph was used to produce a new statue
ion the same scale and the original. "With the pantograph, we
set the instrument on a reference point at the top of the head
and two points at its waist," said Richard Carbino, vice president
of Traditional Cut Stone Ltd.
According to Carbino, the process began with a single block
of stone, which was gradually broken down to the finished
product. "We took the raw block of stone and drilled it," he
said. "Then with plugs and feathers we split it down to the size
TCS Article 004
Photo: 3.
"With the pantograph,
we set a point at the top
of the head where the
instrument was set, and
put two reference
points at its waist," said
Carbino
TRADITIONAL CUT STONE LTD.
Hand Crafted Masterpieces in Natural Stone
A Limestone Reproduction
TCS Article 004
we wanted and then we roughed out the design by hammer
and chisel. This continued until it was finished."
Throughout this process, one of the biggest challenges was
faced when carving Lord Nelson’s sword. "There is some very
deep undercutting with the sword because it’s almost
freestanding," said Carbino. "We had to make some special
chisels to get to it."
Once the sculpting was done, the statue was transported by
an air ride transport in separate boxes, and a 10,000 pound
crane was used to connect the two pieces using stainless
steel rods and pins. "When you put it together, you have to
allow for a 1/8-inch joint," said Carbino. "The joints were filled
on site with a restoration mortar." Furthermore, the mortar was
matched to the colour of the stone, and the joints were reworked with tool marks so no difference could be discerned.
According to Julie Boivin, the time constraints on the project
left no room for mistakes. "It was a tight schedule, and nothing
could go wrong or we would have to order another block, and
that would have taken another six months and delayed the
whole thing," she said. But despite the challenges presented,
the statue was completed on time and met all of the standards
set for it. Additionally, the original 1809 statue will soon be kept
in a museum setting in Montreal for the public to view.
Photo: 4. Once the sculpture was done, it was dismantled and transported to the site
by an air ride transport in separate boxes.