At the centre of the Nottingham Water Clock is a feature that has slowly become less noticeable as it has become tarnished and covered in grime. The bouquet consists of a copper autumn leaf supporting a white cluster of foliage in which a number of woodland birds and animals perch.
The bouquet not at its best.
The leaf had become blackened and covered in dust. It was barely possible to make out that it was actually copper. Wayward coins were found buried in the grime, everything was in a sorry state.
A build up of grime and corrosion.
Photographs from Emett's workshop show the way it was intended to look. The leaf should be bright and shiny as should the animals. The foliage should be white (they are coloured by reflections from the copper leaf).
As Emett intended.
So we have had the whole structure soda blasted and the bright parts polished. The leaf is now clearly copper again and ready to be reassembled with the foliage..
An autumn leaf.
The foliage has been restored by blacksmith and jeweller Shelley Thomas at the Kew Water and Steam Museum using salvaged and newly made parts to replace the corroded foliage using the photographs from the Forge as a reference.
Shelley Thomas in her studio.
The finished piece has been primed and painted white and the woodland animals have been restored to their perches. One the Clock is installed at Millennium Point the bouquet should, once more, make its presence felt.
The foliage repainted white.
The animals are added back.
Waiting for installation.
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