Victorian putti conserved by students to be sold at auction

West Dean College
Near Chichester
West Sussex PO18 OQZ

Student conservators at West Dean College have conserved a pair of
German hard paste porcelain allegorical figures representing day,
and the harvest season, and night (circa 1860 to 1880).  The putti
will be auctioned at Bonhams' Fine European Ceramics in London on 2
December in support of the College's full time Ceramics Conservation
programme.  The internationally renowned College is run by The
Edward James Foundation a charitable trust offering scholarships to
talented students in Conservation and Creative Arts.

Bonhams head of European Ceramics, Nette Megens, says,

   "These figures represented a very difficult conservation
    challenge and the students have done a magnificent job.  West
    Dean College has an excellent reputation and Bonhams is glad to
    have been able to support its important work."

Connie Tang, Mary Terese Vigliotti, Jane Townsend and Belinda Shen,
students on the Graduate Diploma Programme at the College, worked on
the figures.  Both had been broken into two sections, with detached
sections, numerous body and glaze sherds, and areas of loss and
other damage.

   "It has been a challenging project but both teams worked very
    effectively to achieve their treatment goals.  The difficulty in
    supporting such heavy objects during the bonding process called
    on excellent problem-solving skills," says Lorna Calcutt,
    Programme Leader Ceramics Conservation.

Students work on a very diverse range of historic objects from a
broad group of clients, including acclaimed collections, as part of
their professional training.  Learning combines practical with
theoretical and scientific study with collaboration across the
conservation disciplines (books, ceramics, clocks, furniture or
metalwork).  Many graduates go on to work in some of the world's
most prestigious institutions and commercial practices, such as the
Victoria and Albert Museum, National Maritime Museum and the British
Museum, or establish their own conservation practice.  I survey 95%
of students state reputation as the reason they chose to study at
West Dean College.

The college attracts students from the UK/EU and internationally as
one of the few places offering specialised training in the
conservation of ceramics to gain an MA Conservation Studies, which
is increasingly in demand by the sector.

Scholarships and Bursaries: In recognition of the increasing
difficulties in funding for postgraduate education the college
offers a wide range of scholarships and bursaries to talented
students from its own funds and thanks to the generous support of
other funders who share its passion for creative arts and
conservation.  The college welcomes funding applications from
prospective students from all walks of life and the deadline for
applications for the 2016/17 intake ends at 5pm 1 April 2016.

Student Open Day

The next Student Open Day on Saturday 6 February 2016 is an
opportunity to see conservation in action behind the scenes in the
School of Conservation and to explore the studios of the School of
Creative Arts.

For more information or to register call +44 1243 818291 or email
admissions<-at->westdean<.>org<.>uk.  To view the digital prospectus visit

    <URL:http://www.westdean.org.uk>


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 29:28
                 Distributed: Friday, December 4, 2015
                       Message Id: cdl-29-28-002
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