Ebony, ivory, cameos, silver… the Treasure of Notre-Dame is getting a makeover

Nathalie Pruha and her colleague Xavier Llerena, sculpture restorers, check whether the bronze Christ that they have just restored corresponds to one of the crosses belonging to the batch of objects from the Notre-Dame Treasure, entrusted to their care by Marie- Hélène Didier, curator of Historical Monuments at the Department of Cultural Affairs of Ile-de-France.

The restorer assesses the condition of a statue of Saint Clotilde. Her mantle is sprinkled with fleur-de-lys to remind us that she was the wife of Clovis, first king of France and the architect of his conversion.

Alabaster plaque carved with a scene representing Christ in the Garden of Olives. Dating from the 16th century, “it was originally supposed to be part of a tabernacle” estimates Marie-Hélène Didier, present for a site meeting. The current Treasury, reconstituted after the Revolution, includes many 19th century art objects but also older precious remains, which the faithful gave as gifts to the cathedral.

This incredible collection of silver-rimmed cameos was entrusted to Nathalie Pruha to be cleaned. In wooden cases, there are portraits of 268 popes since Saint Peter. Finely sculpted in the 19th century by the workshops of Torre del Greco, a town near Naples famous for its cameo art, they were offered to the cathedral by a Bavarian donor in 1888. The goldsmiths Goudji and Pierre Rouge-Pullon completed the work by making portraits of the last popes, on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the collection in September 2008.

Shéhérazade Bentouati, goldsmith restorer, explains how corrosion blackens the silver of this bust of Saint Denis which was presented without a display case until now. From now on, in the new scenography of the Treasury, it will be better protected from the ambient air.

The young woman also cleans the six imposing candlesticks designed by the architect Viollet-le-Duc for the main altar of his time. Brass or gilded bronze? the restorer doesn’t know yet because they are so dirty. “I would like to retain as much of the original varnish as possible, even if that means not reviving the gilding too much, as it is part of the history of the object for future study on the techniques of the artists of the era” she explains to Marie-Hélène Didier.

The cherub ornaments and lion’s paw feet of the candlesticks were dismantled for separate cleaning. “They have been delicately crafted down to the smallest details,” admires Shéhérazade Bentouati. “The six candlesticks which had been scattered in the cathedral will now be grouped together in the Saint-Guillaume chapel, with its tier (a sort of base) and the tabernacle which went with it” specifies Marie-Hélène