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| Vinci Restores the Second Half of the Hall of Mirrors French construction group Vinci, which is sponsoring the restoration (12 million euros) of the Hall of Mirrors at the Château de Versailles, has began restoring the architectural décor in the southern half of the Hall. The Hall's polychrome marbles are being restored by Socra, a Vinci Group subsidiary. Socra is also in charge of restoring the bronzes, starting with the removal of the 850 bronze mountings holding the mirrors in place in order to clean them, and re-gild those whose gilding is the most worn. Once these mountings have been removed, mirror specialist Vincent Guerre will be able to take down the 21 mercury mirrors lining the Hall's 17 arcades. The next stage: the International Scientific Council, composed of leading international experts on 17th century painting and architecture, is due to meet on 26 June to review the works currently underway, and to decide on the next stages of the restoration process. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Construction News :: home page |