PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS AND DIAGNOSTIC
Fig 1. Detail of a fragment of the golden filigree adorning the Chiaravalle Cross
The restoration of the Chiaravalle Cross The Chiaravalle Cross, a jewelry masterpiece dating to the 13th century, is a processional cross being restored during “Restituzioni 2016” (1). The approach to the Chiaravalle Cross and its restoration has involved a number of critical issues due mainly to the different types of materials and techniques used for the manufacturing of this masterpiece of Venetian jewelry art, embracing the excellence of one or more workshops where sculpture, chisel, jewelry and glyptics merge in unison to offer something universal.
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The Cross is made up of a wooden structure covered on the front by 12 plates in red jasper, on which were applied the main figures of the crucified Christ, the Virgin and St. John the Evangelist, all made of molten silver in lost wax, finely chiselled, gilded with mercury amalgam and polished with burnished (the typical signs, resulting from the rubbing of the tool, are still visible). A golden filigree (see a detail in fig. 1) frames the entire shape and is adorned with several gemstones. The perimeter thickness of the Cross is entirely covered by a smooth and shiny silver foil made in a unique segment, fixed with nails and folded on the front and back sides. On the rear, there are embossed, chiselled and gilded silver foils, placed inside the carved wooden structure and then covered with slabs made of “rock crystal” (see fig. 2). The crystal slabs are framed and held by silver plates, probably added in the 17th century restoration, adorned with simple relief motifs obtained only chiselling. Similar gem settings are placed also on the front. Finally, the multifaceted knot, with six lozenges, represents as a whole the synthesis of the two sides of the Cross, with the presence of filigrees, gem settings, red jaspers, embossed, chiselled, gilded foils and the rock crystal covering them.
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