69 The Holy Cross retable bottom board of the niche. Furthermore, the fragile upper part of the cartouche was reinforced by a movable wooden cradle system attached to the back (Fig. 103). Reconstructive operations Reconstruction of missing elements was restricted to only a the capital of the right pilaster and some lost areas of the cartouche. In general, these additions were executed with balsa-sticks and Plextol B500. Some small losses were filled with putty.54 The capital of the right pilaster was found in the cellar of the church between other items. It had obviously been badly damaged by wood pests, crashed down, then been stored and forgotten. In order to reattach this fragment, it was necessary to reconstruct the contour and volume using the wood-stick completion system (Fig. 104-106).55 Losses in the surface of the cartouche were filled in with the same system. Retouching Following the principles of minimal intervention, retouching was done only where the white colour of the preparation layer could be seen, some white spots were present, or the wooden support was stained. The preparation layer was Fig. 103: Condition after treatment; the fragile upper part of the cartouche is stabilised with a movable cradle system Fig. 106: After reconstruction
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