
Restoration of the baton of the Royal Conservatory of Music of Madrid
Baton dedicated to Pablo Echegoyen
The Royal Conservatory of Music of Madrid (RCSMM) is the oldest public institution for music education in Spain, which provides higher education in music, equivalent to university education. Its history, lasting a century and a half, is representative of the vicissitudes of music in Spanish society. This centre, under the jurisdiction of the Community of Madrid, has a museum that houses collections of Fine Arts, along with musical instruments, all of which are cultural assets that require conservation and restoration interventions, as has been the case of the baton restored by the Directorate General of Cultural Heritage and the Office of the Spanish Language.
State of conservation of the baton
The baton, measuring 42 cm in length, belongs to the museum collection of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid and is dedicated to the military musician Pablo Echegoyen (1873-1933), a famous composer and author of the Pasodoble The Algeciras Conference of 1906.
The main body is made up of a piece of cane decorated with metal appliqués. The decoration alternates silver and gold details. One end has a gold knob and the other is decorated with three musical instruments. The handle shows the anagram of Pablo Echegoyen and the case has the inscription:
"The ? of the Princess's Infantry Regiment to its worthy Chief Musician Don Pablo Echegoyen."
The work showed areas of corrosion in the decoration of the metal appliqués. This alteration extends punctually throughout the piece, being more evident in some areas, especially in the central part. Spots of oxidation were also visible on the knob.
The rust spots were more evident in the areas where some decorative motifs were joined, as a result of the metal used to weld or join these pieces. The cane structure did not show any alterations.
restoration project
Due to the size and delicacy of the ornaments on the piece, binoculars have been used to allow a close look at all the reliefs of the decoration.
A thorough investigation has begun mechanical cleaning with the help of very sharp boxwood sticks, to be able to access all the small details. This cleaning has been alternated with a chemical cleaning, in order to remove the remains of rust, cotton swabs soaked in isopropyl alcohol have been used. By means of a light and gentle rubbing, these remains and dirt that prevented the reliefs and tones of the metal from being appreciated have been removed.
During cleaning, special care was taken to maintain the original patina of the piece, without altering any varnish layer on the reed. Finally, two protective layers were applied, based on an acrylic resin and a corrosion-inhibiting additive.