MA Conservation student, Johannes Wagenknecht, who is specialising in stone conservation, has chosen to treat the cast concrete of The Alcibiades Dog from Chatsworth House during his one-year course.
This garden statue by Austin and Seeley (1828 – c.1877) made of coade stone or cast concrete, arrived at the Art School today in pieces. Weighing a total of about 450kg, the statue was carefully and expertly taken into the stone yard by Clare French, Historic Carving Technician.
The object was unloaded at the main gate and transported on a forklift truck by Johannes and Clare, with the assistance of two others, to a gazebo set up in the stone yard. Clare French is very familiar with the fork lift, which can lift up to 500kg, as it is regularly used to unload and move stone blocks for the Historic Carving Department.
Now it is ready for the conservation treatment to begin… watch this space!
