St. Peter is the keeper of the gates of Heaven, he holds the keys and the book of names. St. Paul’s sword represents his martyrdom and he holds the book of Epistles. Both these large plaster statues had been overpainted at least twice in their history. Now the objective was to investigate the underlying decoration and use this information to reinstate the decoration on the statues.

Typical issues that arise with statues are missing or damaged digits and any other protruding parts. Overpainting and damaged bases are also a common occurance.

St. Peter had a broken corner on the base resulting in damage to his toes. Investigations carried out involved removing paint layers and taking paint samples to understand the decorative history of the statues.

It was interesting to reveal during the investigations that the last decorative scheme applied on the statues had counter changing colours.

All polychromy and traditional gilt decoration (both gold and silver) was reinstated on the statues alongside all overpainted detailing that was found on the garments, books, keys and sword.