Context 167 - March 2021

C O N T E X T 1 6 7 : M A R C H 2 0 2 1 39 Plasterers (formerly AG Joy and Son). At Orleans House, Jon Joy carried out the intricate repairs to the plasterwork, including sculptures.We worked with Jon and his father Bunny at Windsor Castle in the 1990s on the post-fire restoration project. At Orleans House Gallery, we worked with Jon and his son Tom, their example highlighting the benefits of the passing of skills and knowledge through the generations. The interior of James Gibbs’ Octagon is enriched with decorative plasterwork by the noted stuccatori, Giuseppe Artari and Giovanni Bagutti, who also worked on prominent Georgian buildings such as St Martin-the-Fields (Gibbs), Castle Howard (Vanbrugh), and Clandon Park (Leoni). It is a highly individual, attractive and enjoyable garden building. Built for the entertainment of royal visitors in the manner of a private retreat away from the formality of the main house, it was designed to entertain. The conservation and repair of the interior, in particular, presented great opportunities for the contemporary specialist conservators and craftspeople, as it required extensive repairs to the original plasterwork by Artari and Bagutti, redecoration including oil gilding, repairs to the marble floor and historic joinery, and the instal- lation of a new water-gilded timber chandelier. The work presented us with opportunities to see the magnificent interior at close proxim- ity from the scaffolding. The plasterwork in the ceiling was particularly loose, probably due to a series of water leaks prior to the comprehensive copper roof repairs we carried out in 2008. It was secured with stainless steel washers, loose areas were consolidated, and intricate plaster decora- tion of shell work and trellis panels with rosettes and acanthus scrolling were fully repaired by master plasterer Jon Joy and his team. Prior to the project works, the interior was decorated in pale blue, with ivory scheme offset- ting the gilded (gold-painted) elements. Ian Bristow undertook some initial paint analysis samples in 1992 and provided an overview of the historic decoration scheme. Further exten- sive paint analysis was carried out by Jane Davies between 2016 and 2017, taking over 500 samples from both internal and external architectural elements. Her research established that the original 1720s scheme and the very similar 1750s scheme were both stone-coloured, followed by predominantly blue schemes in 19th century onwards. It was agreed that the 1750s scheme should be selected, as it best corresponded with the current architectural arrangement of the Octagon. Built for the entertainment of royal visitors in the manner of a private retreat away from the formality of the main house (since demolished), the Octagon was designed to entertain (Photo: Morley Von Sternberg)