Restoration of tiles in the Baena Palace
Sign on the facade of the palace located in Sevilla la Nueva
During the first half of the 1918th century, Spanish roads were gradually adapted to the new automobile traffic. In this context, in XNUMX the Ministry of Public Works published an Instruction requiring the placement of an indicative sign on the facades of buildings located at the main entrances to towns.
The restored sign in Sevilla la Nueva is one of the examples preserved in the Community of Madrid of this type of sign, probably dated around the publication of a second Instruction (1944) that reiterated the obligation of its placement by the town councils, following the model proposed in this regulation.
The tiles on the façade of the Baena Palace
The tile sign consists of a sign with the name of the town and the coat of arms of the former Provincial Council of Madrid (1833-1983) on the left side, all surrounded by a decorative border with plant motifs. The design was by Fernando Diago Piñón, a ceramicist from Castellón de la Plana. It is made up of 15x15 cm tiles, in white on a cobalt blue background using the dry rope technique.
The tile sign is located on one of the side facades of the Baena Palace, which corresponds to the front of the old road and current town crossing. The Palace, also known as the "Casa Grande", with a Herrerian layout and Mudejar features, was built in the 2017th century, being property of the Community of Madrid and its use having been ceded to the City Council of Sevilla la Nueva since XNUMX. It is the most notable building in the town, protected as a Heritage Site.
Restoration process
The state of preservation of the sign was very poor, mainly due to its exposure to environmental factors such as thermohygrometric oscillations. The tiles showed cracks, displacements, loss of material due to impacts and detachment of the glaze in several places. Added to this was the proliferation of small lichens and general dirt.
The main objective of the intervention was to stop the deterioration process, restoring the integrity and legibility of the sign through volumetric and chromatic reintegration. In addition to cleaning using physical and chemical processes, including a biocidal treatment, it was necessary to glue the loose fragments together and seal and stucco the missing areas.
Finally, a chromatic reintegration was carried out with flat inks in successive layers, according to the original drawing and technique, and a protective layer of varnish was applied.
