Narrator: The first step was to disassemble
the statue while still in Berlin
and get it crated properly for shipping.
Working as a team, the conservators from
the Pergamon are removing the head.
We didn't take it apart completely,
just broke it down into several large fragments.
Some of these pieces weighed around 300 pounds,
so lifting equipment is crucial to moving
the pieces safely.
The straps are called slings,
they help us prepare the torso for crating.
We used a fine saw to cut through the
interior iron pins put there by a previous restorer.
We only had to cut one of the two pins
to be able to easily remove the leg.
In our conservation lab we begin the process
known as fuming.
We placed the torso in a plastic bag
called the tent where it stayed for two
to three months.
Sealed with the torso were six glass beakers
holding a mixture of alcohol and acetone.
Fumes from this mixture soften the shellac
used by previous restorers.
Jerry Podany, the Getty's head conservator
is using a wooden tongue depressor to gently
scrap off the soft shellac that oozed from the joints.
Any remaining bits of shellac are cleaned
with acetone.
Complete disassemble was necessary to clean
and conserve the statue properly.
Here I am removing the right shoulder.
The mask protects me from residual fumes.
We discovered that some of the interior
support pins had been secured with molten lead.
This sort of procedure has fallen out of favor
because it's difficult to reverse.
When we finish taking it apart,
the statue was in many fragments.
To extract surface stains we packed almost all
of the fragments in paper pulp mixed with
alcohol and distilled water.
The head was encased and left to dry for
three or four days as the solvent pulled
the stains from the surface into the pulp.
Cotton swabs dipped in alcohol are used
for spot cleaning remaining stains.
We roll the swab so it isn't abrasive to the stone.
We applied hot steam delivered at high pressure
to the really tough stains.
The methods we use are not destructive.
Restorers used to use an acid wash to clean
the stone, which left it starkly white.
Current methods are far less severe.
Our goal is to preserve the light stains
and variations in the bailable patina.
We used a lifting device and a wooden frame
to align the fragments.
Conservation intern, Erik Risser,
carefully guides the two halves of the torso together.
The segments are secured with a special
aluminum assembly device redesigned to fit
inside an already existing cavity.
Everything we do is reversible.
The statue can be taken apart again simply
by unlocking the concealed joining mechanism.
The chain hoist caries the weight
of the right shoulder.
Erik lets out the chains and together
we guide the piece to fit securely on the torso.
The left side was more complicated,
it was made up of multiple fragments
and proved to be difficult to position.
The exterior fragments were the last to go on,
each one had been fitted with stainless steel pins
that slide into sleeves mounted into previously
drilled restoration holes.
Seams and joints were filled.
The goal is to make the fills noticeable
at close inspection, but never distracting to the eye.
The fill is textured.
The end painting with a small brush
helps make the bright white fill blend
with the grey stone.
The head is ancient but not original to the
rest of the statue.
A restorer, sometime in the past, probably
put the head and body together.
Its conservation treatment now finished,
Erik and I work together to slide the head
onto its stabilizing pin and reattach it safely
to the body.
(shows completed statue)