SPODE JUG

SPODE JUG

This jug is 7.5 inches tall and was stuck very badly with epoxy that had discoloured with age. It is mostly the side and pouring part of the jug that has suffered impact damage, however on inspection part of the lion head on the top part of the handle was missing.  Very pretty design on this one, I'm looking forward to working on it!

Jug de-bonded and steam cleaned


This jug has a pale coloured clay body which has not been fired to a high temperature and was therefore slightly porous so I didn't soak it.  I de-bonded the old epoxy using DCM over five hours in an enclosed container.  The pieces came apart quite easily and I used cotton swabs and de-ionised water to clean off the DCM residue.  Some staining remained on the edges so I used Laponite with 10% hydrogen peroxide (35%).  I put the Laponite/hp mix on the edges and covered in clingfilm for a few hours which worked well


As the ceramic body had not been fired to stoneware it was not suitable to use special epoxy directly onto the surface.  I therefore consolidated the edges by brushing with Paraloid B72 (Acryloid in the USA) 15% in acetone prior to application of the fills.  

This is the jug after I'd done the fills

For the fills I used special epoxy and bulked it up with a mix of fumed silica and marble dust which gave it a similar texture to the ceramic.  I used historic pigments to colour the epoxy to achieve a creamy shade.

The fills here have been taken back to just below the level of the glaze.

Here I have re-touched in the missing design using Golden airbrush colours

THE FINISHED JUG