Application of Laser Welding to the Restoration of the Ostensory of the Martyr St. Ignatius from Palermo

We report what to our knowledge is the first application of laser welding in conservation of artworks. This technique is presently carried out at the Goldsmith Laboratory of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence to restore a precious ostensory of the 17th century made of gold, silver, painted enamels and gems. Before the restoration, the object was lying broken in more than 300 fragments of various sizes. The reconstruction of the ostensory has been carried out by using a long Nd:YAG laser equipped with stereomicroscope for precise control of the operations, which allowed welding spots of a few hundreds of microns.