Page:The museum, (Jackson, Marget Talbot, 1917).djvu/187

Rh it can be used without destroying the surface, and in washing it off afterward. Whiting is sometimes used but with rather unsatisfactory results. Of course, ancient marbles which have acquired a patine from burial in the ground would never be cleaned at all beyond removing the surface dirt with a brush or cloth. Many museums use a feather duster in cleaning. This is a mistake for the little stiff part of the feather is apt to be very scratchy and may do some injury. Much better is a painter's dust brush.

In the matter of the restoration of sculpture, fashion is discouraging more and more any attempts in this direction. It has been said that a statue with a broken nose is much more beautiful than one with perfect features because the imagination can supply an infinitely finer nose than any which an artist could achieve. Be that as it may, the Albertinum in Dresden is setting the example of the ideal way of handling sculpture. Among the many fine marbles this museum possesses, few are in perfect condition; some are Roman copies of Greek works; some could obviously be restored only in one way. Where fragments are present, they are pieced together so far as there is no manner of doubt as to their position. The moment any doubt is felt, a plaster cast is taken of the whole figure and of any parts, and the pieces in