Lazurite columns of Saint Isaac’s Cathedral: problems of restoration

The correct definition of attribution and existence of the museum object in many ways contributes to the selection of the most effective methods of its restoration. No less important is the location of the object in the museum space. Lazurite columns of the iconostasis of Saint Isaac’s Cathedral (the state museum, which annually hosts more than a million visitors) represent an example of one of the complex objects in solving such questions. Lazurite columns are an integral part of the interior of the cathedral, and its main part. Any long-term interference will have a negative impact on the overall evaluation of artistic decoration. In connection with this, it is urgent to find the right solution to the organization of the restoration process, which does not violate the perception of the internal space and the work of the museum. At the same time, the solution to the problem of restoring plasticity of the mastic and ensuring its adhesion to lazurite plates, which were affected by unfavorable conditions of the building operation during two short periods of the twentieth century (1917-1927 and 1941-1944), was put on the foreground. In this connection, the necessary condition for the forthcoming restoration of the lapis lazuli columns was the specification of the attribution of the material used and the search for the maximum information about previous works.