Tehran – Conservation work has begun at a museum in northern Tehran with 3,000 kilograms of bronze sculpture by late Italian artist Arnardo Pomodoro.
The restoration project, launched two weeks ago, will be held at a museum in Tehran’s Zaferaniyeh district. The sculpture, known as Sfera di Pomodoro, has been previously installed in Tehran’s ERAM park since 1978 and maintained various forms of environmental and surface damage, according to Iranian heritage experts.
Maniye Hadian de de Cordi, a conservation scientist and faculty at the Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, told the Tehran Times that the restoration would take about 14 weeks. “The sculpture has been subjected to years of environmental degradation, including air pollution and professional cleaning efforts,” she said.
Visitors to the Time Museum can observe the restoration process taking place in the transparent on-site protection workshop.
Hadian-Dehkordi said that the bronze ball, made from copper alloy, is one of Iran’s three Pomodoro works. The largest of the three was the museum of that time. The other two versions include works from the Museum of Contemporary Art Tehran and 30 centimeter models of miniatures located in the Niavalan Palace complex. Pomodoro sculptures are also available in Near Baran.
The sphere, created in 1974 and moved to Iran in 1978, is part of a limited number of large spheres within the sphere where the Pomodoro works, and is also on display at locations such as the United Nations headquarters in New York, UNESCO’s Paris headquarters, and St. Peters Square in Batan.
Current conservation efforts include damage documentation, photogrammetry and microstructural analysis, according to Hadian-dehkordi. “We used thousands of images and 3D modeling to assess the extent of damage,” she said.
Shiba Khadir, a metal protection expert involved in the project, said detailed microscopic analysis is being conducted to identify corrosion patterns, microcracks and surface decomposition. “The most serious issues were discoloration and superficial contamination, part of which was attributed to previous cleaning attempts,” Kadir said.
Maintenance processes include surface cleaning, stabilization using special resins, and long-term storage measures. “For such contemporary art, the appearance of the surface is important. The Pomodoro Foundation requested that the sculpture be restored to its original, refined reflective state,” Hadian Decordi said.
Khadir pointed out that materials for repairs have been sourced based on recommendations from the Pomodoro Foundation. “We are assessing whether we can source the right materials locally and whether we must rely on standard chemical treatments commonly used in international conservation projects,” she said.
She added that mechanical techniques will be minimized to avoid surface wear. “We’re testing some cleaning agents that have previously been used in similar artwork. If they’re effective, we’ll proceed. Otherwise we can request special materials from the Pomodoro Foundation.”
Born in 1926, Pomodoro is widely known for its polished bronze sculptures, often characterized by structural ruptures, revealing intricate interiors. His sphere within the sphere represents the contrast between external integrity and internal complexity.
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