The Serra Chapel Conservation Project
- A Progress Report
June 19, 2006
The Mission Team is on track for preserving this
important historic house of worship by the Fall of 2008. Since last
October, much has been accomplished with regard to artifact conservation,
entry restoration, St. Peregrine exterior conservation and re-roofing,
termite treatment, and pew restoration. At this time, there are
some environmental cleaning efforts being undertaken in the attic
area of the Chapel as well exterior restoration to the brick columns
supporting the covered walkway adjacent to the west side of the
Chapel. Conservation of the altar candlesticks continues with a
third candlestick currently being treated for repair.
Upcoming projects are as follows:
End of June/ Retablo Work Begins:
Scaffolding will be put in place at the end of
this month as part of a one year cleaning and conservation treatment
to the seventeenth century retablo. For those of you planning a
wedding or other sacrament be advised that the scaffolding will
be in place for one year. A team of conservators from Griswold Conservation
Associates will be on-site carrying out a significant repair, cleaning,
and restoration effort which will expose the original gilded finishes
that are hidden beneath layers of bronze paint and gold-toned metal
leaf. According to Griswold, almost all surfaces of the retablo
appear to retain the original seventeenth-century burnished water
gilding beneath the modern coatings.
Middle of July/ St. Peregrine Chapel Closed
for Repairs:
The St. Peregrine Chapel will be closed to the
public from about the middle of July through September 15, 2006
to allow May Painting Conservation, a group of paintings conservators
headed by Debra May and Rachel Burch to beautifully clean, conserve,
and restore the plasters and wall paintings of this side chapel.
This is the team that carried out the treatment to the entrance
of the Serra Chapel. Some of their recent projects include treatment
of the Getty Peristyle Murals of the J. Paul Getty Museum and the
conservation of Hugo Baling murals and decorative painted ceilings
of the Griffith Observatory. This work involves documenting existing
conditions; consolidating flaking paint and plasters; removing accretions,
graffiti, and over paint; filling and texturing losses to the paint
layer; cleaning; and in-painting losses and disfigurements to the
paint layer. During this two month effort, the Mission staff will
temporarily relocate the St. Peregrine statue to the front of the
Church, near the pulpit so that the devotional practice associated
with its presence may continue uninterrupted. The St. Peregrine
Chapel will be closed during this time. When the Chapel is finished,
the statue will be returned and several other statues will join
St. Peregrine. Our Lady of Pilar, a historically significant statue
that once graced the Serra Chapel will be relocated from the Mission
museum and be returned to the Chapel where it rightly belongs.
Stations of the Cross Paintings Conservation
Underway:
To date, the first of fourteen paintings depicting
the Stations of the Cross has been conserved (Station IV: Jesus
Meets His Mother). We are hopeful that we can complete two to three
Stations paintings this calendar year. Due to available funding
two more paintings are on schedule for conservation during the next
four months.
Fall, 2006/East Door of the Serra Chapel:
Repair and stabilization to the cracked header
over the east door of the south end of the Serra Chapel needs repair
and plaster and painting stabilization. The Team has applied for
a grant from the California Missions Foundation and hopes to carry
out this work of repair and stabilization in the Fall.
Summer, 2006/Furnishings for the St. Peregrine
Chapel:
Design and development of new kneelers and furnishings
to scale for the space, are currently under way. With available
funding, the fabrication of these items should be underway this
summer.
We will continue to keep you informed regarding
our progress to date. Thank you for your support and confidence
as we move forward to preserve the "Jewel" of the California missions,
Mission San Juan Capistrano's Serra Chapel.
Sincerely,
Mechelle Lawrence-Adams, Executive Director
Mission San Juan Capistrano
