Here are some of our recent Restoration Projects.
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The restoration of this doll took a while 🙂
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A porcelain collectible doll. Severe damage to the face.
Plus new clothes we cut and designed for her
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DOLL REPAIR AND OUTFIT DESIGN
Hummel  Restoration
Please read our blog post about porcelain Hummel repair.
Lladro Restoration
Lladro figurines and sculptures, along with Hummel and Meissen, are the most popular collectibles in the world. Â Royalties, religious leaders, heads of state, art historians have collected Lladro for over half-a-century. The Lladro brothers, the sons of a Spanish farmer Juan Lladro Cortino, founded the Lladro company in 1953.
Heavily influenced by the Greek painter El Greco, they insisted that each Lladro figurine comes with at least 5,000 shades of glaze and color. After trying various firing, glazing and lacquering techniques, the brothers finally discovered how to mix right amount of kaolin and mineral to achieve the look they’d been searching for. Lladro requires a great knowledge of color and glazing techniques.  Because restored figurines cannot be fired in a kiln, only a cold-style china repair  is appropriate for porcelain and ceramic items.
Restoration Projects:
After the broken pieces are glued and bonded, the restorer matches and replicated the shades of color using paint brushes and an airbrush, followed by glazing. In the  figurine below the head was broken off the body and many fragments had to be sculpted before Luba and her team started matching and replicating the color and surface pattern. The restoration took three weeks to complete, plus 5 days for the glaze to dry.
If you’re interested in Lladro restoration, please email us photos and the overall measurements of your damaged item, and we’ll respond with an estimate promptly.
Porcelain Vase Restoration
This vase was painted by the client’s grandmother 100 years ago, in Maryland, when she was 16 years old. The vase has great sentimental value to the client’s family. The damage was very severe. We had to sculpt lots of pieces and fragments for a perfect fit, and recreate the surface pattern and color. The restoration process took five weeks. Before Restoration:
After Restoration:
Repair of Ceramic Pipe. This is vintage German ceramic pipe circa 1800s. A family heirloom.
Repair of an Antique Flow Blue Chinese Vase This flow blue vase belongs to Thanaphan Khajornphan (real name used by permission), the son of Prince Sonapandita, and grandson of King Rama V of Thailand. The vase has been a part of the Royal Family Ceramic collection for over a hundred years. Impressed by Luba’s portfolio, Thanaphan Khajornphan contacted Luel Restoration Studio in August of 2010. The restoration process lasted for four weeks and involved removing the metal staples, filling in the cracks, sculpting additional fragments, matching and replicating the color and surface pattern, airbrushing and glazing. Below the photos is an email Mr. Khajornphan sent Luba after receiving the vases. Two weeks later we received an official letter from Mr. Khajornphan’s grandmother, thanking Luba and Luel Restoration Studio for their services.
After Repair:
Dear Ms. Luba, I received the vase and it’s in excellent condition. Your skill is be incomparable and beyond imagination. About origin of the vase. This vase is part of the private collection of His Highness Prince Sonapandita, the son of King Rama V of Thailand. It is collected in four claws dragon set, in the golden age of Siam Blue and White. Nowadays this collection is my heirloom. In the name of my family, I want to thank Luba, Alex, and staff of Luel Restoration Studio for your outstanding work. P.S. My Grandmother will send a formal “thank you” letter with the Royal Seal to you. Hope to works with you again. With best wishes, Thanaphan Khajornphan Bang Sue Bangkok, Thailand, 2010 Restoration of a Ceramic Pitcher This elaborate and exquisitely designed pitcher is an heirloom that has been with the family in Belville, Texas for several generations. It has been broken in multiple pieces. The restoration involved sculpting many fragments in order of the existing pieces to fit perfectly. Read about the client’s testimonial on our testimonials page.
Porcelain Restoration Projects:
The vase below has been smashed to pieces by one of the Time-Warner Cable Technicians in New York City when he was working on the client’s cable box. The cable company contacted Luba to do the repair on the porcelain vase.
China & Porcelain Restoration After her husband’s death in 1811, Esther Marion, of the great aristocratic family of South Carolina, purchased the famous Marion china from a company in Tunstall, Staffordshire, England. The Esther Marion china is the “soft paste” porcelain so popular at that time. Originally, the china was a double set of 550 pieces. Each piece has the initials “E M” surrounded by a laurel wreath.
The set included numerous plates, bowls, serving dishes, and a toilet set. We can only imagine the marvelous parties and dinners given at Belle Isle! Read more about it on Sumter County Museum’s website. One of the museum’s exhibits features the Esther Marion China. This month Luba restored a beautiful Esther Marion piece that has been given as a gift to the Town of Turbeville, SC.
Antique Ceramic Repair This is a very rare Medieval Spanish Ceramic Charger circa 1470-1500. Moulded. Whitish tin-glaze decorated in brownish lustre and blue. Purchased damaged from Riano Collection. The heraldic shield is set in a raised circle from which radiate fifteen ribs forming petal-shaped panels filled with dot-and-stalk pattern and studs in blue or left in reserve. The reverse with a spiral and under the brim a wavy line with circles and dots. The charger had multiple cracks running across the center. The restoration involved filling in the cracks and replicating the surface pattern and design.
Antique Porcelain Plate Restoration Founded in 1744, the Imperial Porcelain Factory of St. Petersburg, Russia was created by the order of Empress Elizabeth to “serve native trade and native art.” The factory produced wares exclusively for the ruling Romanov family and the Russian Imperial Court. A collector of Imeprial porcelain, based in Baltimore, MD purchased a plate made between 1825 and 1855. The plate was broken and badly restored. He asked Luba to take the old restoration off and restore the plate to its original state.
This porcelain plate has a complicated lace-like pattern and severely damaged desgin in the center of the plate. The restoration involved sculpting extra pieces, filling in the cracks, matching and replicating the design, airbrushing and glazing.
References are available upon request.
