Wednesday 13 July 2011

Stair Window

Monday I was called out to give an estimate on repairing windows. This stair window is characteristic of stair windows created in the latter half of the 19th century.


In this general view of the window you can see the quality of the fittings of the house, for example, the newel post in the lower right of the photo, and the hanging plaster work in the upper right.

The window is interesting not only in its subject - literature and the arts - but in its technical aspects.

The glass has been ground before the painting has been done. The firings must have been quite low and few to retain the ground surface. It is so fine that it feels similar to touching velvet. I will need to do a number of tests to achieve the same result.

At the bottom left is the panel that has been shattered and needs replacement. The need to reproduce the panel with the paint loss that the rest of the window has had, will be another challenge. Assuming I get the work.

I should also look up the meaning of the Latin motto at the bottom of the window to help my interpretation of the window.

Possibly it means "Fortune [luck] has no divine power"

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