Problemy konserwacji rzeźby nagrobnej Abrahama Ostrzegi na cmentarzu żydowskim przy ulicy Okopowej w Warszawie

Abstract

Issues regarding the conservation of Abraham Ostrzega’s grave sculpture in the Jewish cemetery on Okopowa street in Warsaw

In the autumn of 2016, the Cultural Heritage Foundation and the conservation team carried out the renovation of 21 gravestones by Abraham Ostrzegi. The largest group of gravestones consist of monuments made of sandstone as well as marble and granite. The objects were in very poor condition. The surface of the stone was covered by biological layers such as mosses, lichens, algae and black surface layers strongly integrated with the substrate. This resulted in the progressive degradation of the stone substrate. The tombstones featured various sizes, chipping and flushing, as well as visible traces of WWII gunpowder. The foundations, as well as the lower stone elements lay under humus and earth layers and the overgrown roots of trees. The text deals with issues connected with the conservation work in particular: the method and technology used to stabilise the foundations of the gravestones, the methods of cleaning and removing stratigraphs from the surface of the stone and to what extent any cavities were filled.