In Detail: Conservation Work on the Royal Garrison Church Woolwich

The restoration of the circa 1890 Salviati mosaics in the Royal Garrison Church is entering its final phase, as conservators with Skillington Ltd. spend the next few weeks on site to finish reinstalling the remaining pieces.

Funded by the Heritage of London Trust and working under the supervision of the English Heritage, the conservation work was necessary due to the poor state of the mosaics resulting from decades of exposure to environmental conditions after the bombing of the church in 1944.

Most of the conservation was carried out in situ, including stabilization of mortars and loose tesserae, disinfection and cleaning. In the decorative border around St George, there was also the replacement of old repairs with new tesserae in the same tone.

Another company had previously removed some of the mosaics, and these were restored at Skillington Ltd.'s workshop. Those conserved pieces are now being installed, which would complete the mosaic restoration project.

Sources: 
The photographs and information about the conservation work have been kindly provided by Kalypso Kampani of Decorative Arts Conservation and Restoration. Ms. Kampani wrote the original proposal for the restoration grant and is the head conservator on the project.

Funerary Monuments in Croatian Cemeteries

Ivan Rendic was a Croatian sculptor who studied in Italy - including in Venice - and later worked extensively out of Trieste. He made numerous funerary monuments in the cemeteries around Rijeka (including Kozala, Trsat-Susak, Opatija and Bakar), some of which Salviati also decorated with enamel mosaics. A catalog prepared for the 1893 World Columbian Exposition does not detail exactly which memorials Salviati worked on (and erroneously lists Trieste as the location of the cemeteries), but the following examples were all made by Rendic before 1893 and are embellished with mosaics.

The interior of the Gorup family mausoleum from 1882 in Rijeka's Kozala cemetery. Josip Gorup had the memorial built after the death of his wife in childbirth, and the carved relief shows the separation of a mother from her eight children.

The Devet/Spilar-Ambrozic memorial from 1885 in the Kozala cemetery.

The Pilepic monument from 1890.

The Stiglich family tombstone from 1891.

The Bakarcic monument from 1892 in the Kozala cemetery.

Sources:
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collectors' Club, 2005. 126.
Metzger-Sober, Branko. "Funerary Monuments by Ivan Rendic in the Croatian Littoral." Ars Adriatica. 3. Dec 2013.
Wikipedia

The Annunciation, Chislehurst

Architect James Brooks built this Catholic church 1868-70.

Nathaniel Westlake designed the mosaic tympanum of The Last Judgment that Salviati made in 1890.

Sources:
Bentjeman, John and Richard Surman. Betjeman’s Best British Churches. London: Harper Collins UK, 2011.
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collectors' Club, 2008. 136.
The Annunciation Chislehurst
Philip Chester's flickr Photostream
Siani D's flickr Photostream

Laxmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara

Built 1878-90 by Major Charles Mant and Robert Fellowes Chisolm (who took over for Mant in 1881 after his death) for H.H. Maharaja Gaikwar, parts of this building remain the residence of the ruling family of India's Baroda State. It is also open as a tourist attraction to the public.

The grand Darbar Hall (measuring 92 feet long by 54 feet wide by 48 feet high, on the left of the above picture) - used for concerts or other cultural events - contains a total of 8,000 square feet of Salviati mosaics on wall decorations, as well as the marble flooring, which took twelve men eighteen months to set.

The window arches are decorated with golden floral motifs. A local Indian draftsman named Mr. Hasjee may have been responsible for the designs, which were interpreted by the Venetian mosaicists.

Several life-sized, mosaic figures of women adorn the palace's entrance on the exterior of Darbar Hall.

 

An outdoor mosaic (approximately 15 feet high and 12 feet wide) features a bridal scene with Christian overtones, including an angel.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Art Fact
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collectors' Guide, 2008. 126.
Mosaic Atlas
Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Journal, Vol. 3, 1896. 426.
Special thanks to Richard Davis for his pictures, as well as first-hand information regarding these lovely mosaics.