The street shrine dedicated to
St. Joseph was sculpted with high artistic capabilities. St. Joseph was
sculpted holding baby Jesus in his left hand, while in the other hand he has a
staff with lily blossoms, which are two of St. Joseph’s attributes. The niche
itself was constructed in a baroque style; with semicircular recesses and
crowned by a double cornice. A column with a Corinthian capital is found on
either side of the statue. The niche is topped with a cross on a pedestal in
the middle, and originally had two spherical decorative ornaments on each one
of the columns. The decorated sill lies on two decorated corbels, which support
the whole niche. In between the two corbels, one finds the decorative plaque
with the indulgences. The niche and statue are currently coloured.
The statue in subject is found in
the Urban Conservation Area of Żejtun, as a part of a private dwelling.
Fortunately the street is not a very busy one and therefore it wasn’t exposed
to a lot of pollution. The niche was sculpted in a very elaborate way as can be
determined by its composition and use of many decorative features, such as the
capitals, the corbels, features around the plaque, etc. After the initial
documentation test were carried out to analyse the paint layers and to determine
the way forward. The paint was removed manually using delicate manual methods
with micro scalpels. Any areas which are found to be stable and the paint is
sound were retained. Areas where biological growth is present were cleaned
using a still bristle nylon brush. Metal pipes, metal inserts, dead cables,
metal copings and other accretions found fixed to or embedded in the masonry,
were carefully removed. Any metal fragments and rust left in the stone were
removed by drilling into the hole at a wider diameter to ensure that no rusting
metal was left in the stone. The holes were then covered by inserting stone
dowels or by plastering. Joints were opened and loose or unsound pointing or
pointing whit high level of cement was carefully removed. Deteriorated,
dismantled, chiselled, missing sections of plain masonry were reinstated using
plastic repair techniques matching adjoining stonework in colour, texture and
final profile. According to the tests carried out it was determined how to
intervene with the paint, yet the original colours were favoured and were
recreated if deemed reasonable. Breathable paint was used.