The titular statue of St Cajetan is one of the key artefacts in St Cajetan of Thiene parish church, Ħamrun. Sculpted out of papier-mâché by local statue maker Carlo Darmanin (1825-1909) in 1885, this life-sized work testifies to Ħamrun parishioners’ devotion and serves as an important reflection of Malta’s religious traditions. Its corresponding pedestal was subsequently crafted by Giovanni Farrugia, and the detachable platform created by Antonio Sciortino (1879-1947).

The polychromed statue depicts Italian Catholic priest and religious reformer St Cajetan, who was one of the founders of the Order of Theatines, alongside the Madonna and Child. The statue portrays a scene from Christmas Eve in 1517, when parishioners at Santa Maria Maggiore basilica in Rome reportedly saw mystical visions of their patron saint while engaged in prayer and meditation. In one vision, the Madonna entrusted her son, Jesus, to St Cajetan, who is celebrated as the saint of providence.

In Darmanin’s statue, St Cajetan, depicted to the right, kneels in prayer as he receives the Christ child from a standing Madonna, richly adorned in various fabrics. The top of her mantle, in an off-white colour, is adorned with gold stars and extends into a green garment meticulously decorated with golden floral motifs, mirroring the pattern of her red dress underneath. This elaborate adornment contrasts sharply with the simplicity of St Cajetan’s black tunic.

The statue and conserved pedestal at the basilica of San Andrea delle Valle in Rome. Photo courtesy of Joseph Galea

The statue of St Cajetan reflects the spirit of the 19th century when it was made. The sculptor, Darmanin, came from a family of artists known for their marble-work commissions in churches and for the British government, including altars, statues, fonts, columns and gravestones, all made by the firm Giuseppe Darmanin e Figli. He was trained by his father and specialised in papier-mâché, quickly becoming the primary local sculptor in the second half of 19th-century Malta, especially for Good Friday iconography.

As evidenced by the St Cajetan statue, Darmanin’s sculptures typically exhibit a purist style infused with a touch of romanticism, emphasising the devotional aspect of each figure. Many of his creations showcase beautiful faces, lifelike expressions and graceful postures. He also possessed a remarkable talent for rendering clothing, bringing an exceptional level of detail and realism to his figures, as demonstrated more prominently in works such as Christ the Saviour with Saint Elijah and Moses during the Transfiguration at Lija, and the titular sculpture of St Julian for St Julian’s parish church.

The papier-mâché technique is popular for creating processional statues in Malta. They are typically made from strips or pulp of paper, often enhanced with textiles, and held together using glue, starch or wallpaper paste. The statue of St Cajetan cost around 20 pounds, which was funded by the parish community. It was gilded in later years through the financial contributions of parish priest Dun Ġużeppi Muscat.

The corresponding work of art at Ħamrun parish church, the altar painting created by Italian artist Pietro Gagliardi (1809-1890), depicts the same imagery of St Cajetan receiving the infant Jesus from Mary.

Ħamrun’s most significant event is the annual feast of St Cajetan, held in the second week of August, during which the statue is paraded through the town’s streets in a vibrant celebration of faith and colour.

The statue’s recently restored pedestal was designed by the artist Giovanni Farrugia, a local from Ħamrun. It is decorative yet relatively simple so as not to shift the focus from the statue it supports.

Made in a square format, the pedestal features protruding volutes at each corner, all heavily adorned with baroque scrolls. Each of the pedestal’s four faces displays a large, decorated floral roundel, each containing a different image. Its floral motifs and gilding are reminiscent of the baroque style still prevalent in elements of churches in Malta at the time.

This dynamic style echoes other pedestals made for statues in Maltese churches in the 19th century, most notably the gilded pedestal at Our Lady of the Rosary at Dingli parish church.

Conservation of the pedestal

Amy Sciberras Conservators were first contacted in May 2023 for a preliminary viewing of St Cajetan’s gilt pedestal and vases. At this time, the conservators were still not aware of the artefact’s planned journey to St Peter’s Basilica. Discussions continued, and on October 8, 2023, the pedestal made its first journey out of Ħamrun and to Amy Sciberras Conservators’ laboratory.

An in-depth non-invasive investigation on the condition of the artefact was carried out in collaboration with technical art photographers Manuel Ciantar and Suzanne Ciantar Ferrito. Multispectral imaging of each façade of the artefact – which involved the acquisition of the same image in several wavelength regions (including the ultraviolet and infrared regions) – was crucial in understanding the artist’s/gilder’s execution of the artefact, differences in execution from one area to the other, localised varnish applications, forms of deterioration and the extent of past interventions.

The poor state of the pedestal before conservation treatments. Photo: Manuel Ciantar and Suzanne Ciantar Ferrito obo Amy Sciberras Conservators

Although, at first glance, the artefact did not appear to be in poor condition, the photographic documentation taken showed the numerous areas in its gilt surface that had become severely abraded, exposing the underlying red bolo, and in some areas, even the gesso preparation layers.

Localised detachments in the aforementioned strata and losses, as well as numerous substantial cracks were also present in the upper layers of the artefact, going down through the gesso layers. The gilt surface also showed significant grime and dust deposits that were altering and concealing its character and aesthetics.

This study led the way to initiating conservation interventions. The main aim was to stabilise the pedestal, clean it from foreign accumulations and integrating losses and abrasions. The first treatments included stabilisation and consolidation of unstable areas of the gilt surface and of the underlying preparation layers. Cracks were also addressed during these interventions. Areas suffering from detachments were consolidated using a conservation-grade and compatible adhesive (a diluted emulsion), and thus the stability of the various layers was re-established. The consolidant was applied by means of brushes and syringes to reach deeper inside cracks.

Consolidation and re-adhesion of detached strata by injecting a consolidant. Photo: Amy Sciberras Conservators

During this treatment, raking light was used to locate detachments in the various strata. The cleaning of grime, foreign deposits and soot followed. This was carried out after testing to choose the most effective and appropriate cleaning agents. An aqueous solution with a chelating agent was chosen; however, water-sensitive areas were treated using a diverse, organic, cleaning agent.

These treatments were followed by the integration of areas that were exhibiting either severe abrasions or losses. Lacunae in the gesso preparation layers were infilled using a compatible calcium-based filler prepared using gesso di Bologna. Once dry, these infilled areas were levelled and textured according to the undulating surface of the pedestal.

Red Armenian clay or bole was then applied to areas that needed to be burnished following the application of gold leaf, whereby 23.75 carat leaf was used. Thus, the water-gilding technique was used in areas that were originally burnished and where by time/use, the leaf had become severely abraded or lost.

The four accompanying gilt vases were treated and integrated in the same manner.

The conservators during integration treatments of the pedestal. Photo: Amy Sciberras Conservators

One of the challenges encountered was the weight of the pedestal since the conservators needed to raise the artefact, weighing nearly half a ton, in order to work around it. In fact, special machinery was used by the conservators specifically for this purpose so as to be able to reach and work well at different levels and heights from ground level.

The project was concluded in early July and, on July 30, the pedestal was taken back to Ħamrun parish church by the Għaqda Reffiegħa San Gejtanu, led by George Sciberras. The following day, feast celebrations were officially started, and by August 2, together with the titular statue of St Cajetan, it arrived safely in Rome for a historic pilgrimage to mark the 500th anniversary of the establishment of the Theatine Friars, a religious order founded by St Cajetan.

During the pilgrimage from the Vatican. Photo courtesy of Joseph Galea

During the pilgrimage from the Vatican. Photo courtesy of Joseph Galea

During the pilgrimage from the Vatican. Photo courtesy of Joseph Galea

Prior to being transported to the Vatican, the statue was first placed in the basilica of San Andrea della Valle. The anniversary was eventually celebrated on September 14 in Rome, where the statue and conserved pedestal were placed in St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican the day before, ahead of this significant religious event. Pope Francis blessed the statue and its pedestal, and prayed before it on Saturday morning. Following mass, the much-venerated artefacts were taken out on a pilgrimage from the Vatican.

Acknowledgements

Amy Sciberras Conservators [ASC Conservation Centre Ltd] thanks Archbishop Charles Scicluna, Malta’s ambassador to the Vatican Frank Zammit, Archpriest Fr Walter Cauchi, and the ‘ad hoc’ committee Mawra ta’ l-Istatwa San Gejtanu ġewwa Ruma led by Mgr Anton Portelli, and members of Għaqda Reffiegħa San Gejtanu, led by George Sciberras, for making this historical event possible. Special thanks also to Michael Pace Ross, administrative secretary of the Malta Archdiocese, Nigel Vella and the Arts Council Malta, sponsors of the pedestal’s conservation and restoration.

Amy Sciberras directs a team of conservators and has been entrusted with restoration projects of national and international importance. She is also the founder and director of the fine arts restoration company ASC Conservation Centre Ltd. She may be contacted via www.amysciberras.com or e-mail info@amysciberras.com.

Nadette Xuereb is an art historian who specialises on the role of women in the arts during the baroque period. She works in the cultural heritage sector and teaches history of art at A level at the University of Malta Junior College. E-mail nadette.xuereb@um.edu.mt.