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Long-Term Protection of the Last Judgment Mosaic in Prague

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Abstract

A sol-gel coating was used in the long-term protection of the 14th Century mosaic situated above the gates of St. Vitus cathedral, in the center of Prague Castle. The choice of a sol-gel coating is the result of a research effort involving both on-site testing in Prague and accelerated ageing of various polymers and sol-gel materials in the laboratory. The coating selected for treatment of the entire 13 m × 10 m mosaic is a multi-layer system in which an organic-inorganic sol-gel layer is placed between the glass substrate and a fluoropolymer coating. This coating combination performed very well in an accelerated weathering chamber as well as during onsite testing. Since the top layer is scheduled to be removed and re-applied periodically, it is hoped that this concept will allow long term protection to the largest outdoors mosaic north of the Alps. On-site application of the coatings on the entire mosaic started in 1998 and will be completed in 2000.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Eric Bescher & J.D. Mackenzie

  2. The Getty Conservation Institute, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049, USA

    Francesca Piqué & Dusan Stulik

Authors
  1. Eric Bescher
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  2. Francesca Piqué
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  3. Dusan Stulik
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  4. J.D. Mackenzie
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Bescher, E., Piqué, F., Stulik, D. et al. Long-Term Protection of the Last Judgment Mosaic in Prague. Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology 19, 215–218 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008784221259

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008784221259

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