Picking Up the Pieces

An Article in Antiques
Written by Jennifer J. Bush


A childish bout of roughhousing decades ago left a legacy and a bit of unfinished business for Ray LaTreill of Irvine.

When they were young boys, LaTreill and his twin brother tipped over their mother's precious porcelain vase while wrestling in their upstate New York home. During the scuffle, the boys broke off a piece of the rim.

"It was my mom's favorite heirloom," LaTreill said.

The boy's mother, Thelma LaTreill, had received the hand-painted vase as a wedding gift from her mother around 1910. Shortly after the wedding her mother died, which contributed even more to the sentimental value of the piece, he explained.

"We knew she was hurt, but she never really showed it," LaTreill said. His mother simply turned the side with the flaw to the wall to hide it. And the missing piece of the rim was eventually lost.

Ray inherited the hand-painted Royal Doulton porcelain when his mother died. His research indicates that it was made between 1890-1900. Signed by the artist, it is considered an original work of art. A recent appraisal valued the piece at $7,000-$9,000.

"I'll never sell it," he said. "It's very sentimental."

LaTreill, who vowed to make it right one day, finally put a happy ending to the story of the vase. The vase was recently repaired at PICK UP THE PIECES, a company that specializes in the restoration of fine art collectibles.

Foster Art Restoration

PUP is the nation's largest art restoration company. John D. Foster-- an inventor, chemist, and artist-- started the business under the name Foster Art Restoration over 50 years ago. Foster innovated and patented a porcelain-like substance that seals cracks and bonds invisibly. And when poured into a mold, it can be used to create missing parts on a porcelain figure. Borrowing ideas from the aerospace industry, he developed a transparent adhesive for glass and crystal. In all, Foster developed about 25 strategic applications that can be used to repair almost any fine art medium.

"Growing up, my dad was always mixing things; he was like a mad scientist," said his son, John C. Foster.

The company receives broken treasures from all over the world, some just shards arriving in Ziploc bags. At any given time, the shop has about 3,500 items in the works. About 20 percent of the total items they receive are defined as antique (more than 100 years old). Another 30 percent are sentimental pieces.

"These are items that may not be worth much on the market, but are irreplaceable to the owners," John C. said. For one couple, it was a plate, the only item retrieved after their home burned down. To another woman, a salt shaker was all she had from a childhood home. And for a little boy, it was a simple clay pot he created as a gift for his mother that he dropped on the way home from schol.

"People are elated when we tell them we can fix things," said Angela Foster, the wife of John D. "We have housekeepers that come here in tears and they go out smiling."

The majority of the items restored are high-end art pieces including sculptures, crystal, ivory, china, ceramics, porcelain, silver, bronze. They also repair and clean original oil paintings, photographs, and graphics of all types. Moving and insurance companies are their largest customers.

The family owned business has repaired extremely rare and valuable pieces for collectors, museums, and galleries including original Ming vases and Dresden and Meissen porcelain. The oldest item restored was a 4,700 year-old Egyptian amphora that was retrieved from a shipwreck in the Mediterranean.

"The irony is that it existed on the ocean floor for 4,700 years and when they brought it up, they dropped it," John C. said. It was more than 200 pieces, some of which had reduced to powder. The artisans had to not only fit the pieces together, but simulate the encrustation that had occurred over time, he explained.

Their company's field services division can restore just about any hard surface, such as porcelain tubs, ceramic tile and marble. The Melrose Abbey mural in Anaheim was among their many projects.

The cost of restoration varies according to the extent of repair needed. Each piece is evaluated individually. On the average, it cost about $125 to repair a Lladro with several broken parts. Usually it takes 30-60 days to complete most restorations.

"We're often asked whether restoration decreases the value of an item," John C. said. "While the value of a collectible such as a Lladro can go down about 20 percent after being damaged and then restored-- for rare, one of a kind pieces, restoration tends to increase its value.

"If you think about it, the Mona Lisa has been restored 60 times," John C. said. "And its value has not changed."