A Cape Buffalo and a Sea Lion (flying buttress figurines as well)

Backwards

In recent weeks I have been working on a Cape buffalo and a Sea Lion. These two flying buttress figurines for the Eusebius Church in Arnhem had both gotten a new head during earlier restorations .

Something funny was going on with the lion seal, though: its head was backwards! Apparently, the sculptor had traced the contours of the break on a new piece of stone, and then carved the head, only to find out during the final fit that only in this position it would match because he had put the template on the wrong way. It took a lot of work to transfer the position of the head a little more plausible into new stone.

Weathering patina

It was different with the Cape Buffalo: it's an endearing sculpture, and by the position of the feet and the head it's an expressive little thing as well. Now the old tuffstone material gained a certain patina over the years, causing it to stand out well. The new Muschelkalk limestone is sometimes less clearly defined, especially with the dim light under my roof. But this too will over time improve by trapping dirt and washing out the brown layers.

Stripes

This Muschelkalk is a very diverse sort of stone: one block can contain the whole spectrum of hard and soft layers . As a result, a block may turn out soft at the top and rock hard at the bottom. The sea lion had a brown belt around its waist. But after years it will no longer be visible, because all the brown has washed away and the white stone remains, with a porous but strong surface. Besides, the old sea lion also had a belt around his neck, where the new piece was glued to the old body.

To the next flying buttress statue.
Read all messages about flying buttress statues for the Eusebius Church here.