Verformt, verfärbt, zerfressen – Maßnahmen zur Stabilisierung einer strukturell stark geschwächten Lautenmuschel

Abstract

Deformed, Discoloured, Damaged – Measures of Stabilising a Badly Degraded Lute Back
The lute of Rudolph Höß (Munich 1698) is on loan to the Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nuremberg. Like most lutes it had been altered many times and has survived as a combination of components of various origines. Its fragile condition caused by wood boring insects, the considerable deformation, and the cracks resulted in an overall weakened construction and formed the reason for its conservation and restoration. The intervention focused on finding methods and selecting suitable materials for filling and consolidating the tunnels near the surface, created by the insects, while avoiding optical changes of the wood and the surface. Some areas of the instrument’s surface were badly discoloured. Tests were undertaken to remove this discolouration. The lute’s stability was enhanced by sealing the cracks, reshaping deformed components and gluing open joints. Earlier shapes of the instrument are reconstructed on paper.