From Gateshead to New Zealand...panel 1

A while ago I blogged about a job I completed restoring some glass that came from the house of Sir John Maccoy of Gatehead; Sir John Maccoy. Not only did I learn that I had spelled his name incorrectly but also through the power of the internet a current relative, living in New Zealand, got in touch and asked me about the pieces. As luck would have it I was given the remaining pieces of painted glass as my original customer had filled up every available window to hang these beautiful little panels adapted from the huge original Victorian window.

There will probably be 4 panels in this new set made from Sir Johns original window. One of these will be the set of quarries below;

The quarries are a mix of elegant painted flowers but incredibly dirty having probably at least 80 years of London grime on them. The paint on some is fragile and unstable.

With strong light their potential starts to emerge.

The only effective safe way to clean the glass is with a glass fibre brush. Unfortunately some of the quarries were left paint side up. This means careful cleaning...

And use of a smaller glass fibre brush to reveal as much detail as possible.

First column cleaned.

Revealing a skilled confident painter with beautiful silver stain work.

The slightly darker pieces which had been left paint side up I have suggested putting in the corners. A double border is planned awaiting customer approval. More to follow...