I purchased an important Spanish Colonial Peruvian alabaster sculpture (Huamanga stone, actually): an incredibly intricate polychrome sculpture of the calvary— crosses, virgins, saints, Romans on horses, ladders, cocks crowing, down to moss and snails— you name it— all crammed into a busy (to say the least) assembly of 12 x 14 inches. A rare, singular and frankly fabulous piece. I was in Mexico on a job when I made the purchase. The sculpture was shipped to my home in California, from London. I arrived home several months later and unpacked the sculpture, a heartbreaking endeavor.
The packing for shipment had been incompetent unto negligent. The piece had been destroyed in shipment: all the small, detailed alabaster figurines were snapped off, broken, shattered— large pieces, small pieces, tiny pieces ground into dust. And, of course, sufficient time had passed that filing an insurance claim was foreclosed. The loss was complete, artistic and financial. I have substantial experience in conservation and restoration— paintings, sculpture, furniture, ceramics, stone, and this was completely beyond repair. I wanted to toss the pieces in the dumpster and put the unfortunate experience behind me.
Enter Phil Aguirre.
The patience to sort through the detritus, the piles of pieces, to figure out which pieces composed one torso — thence what fragments of feet, shin and thigh belonged to that torso— what fingers, hands with what forearms & elbows, what hands belonged to what wrists— unbelievable! Thence a variety of homemade proprietary glues, invisible even when joining translucent alabaster. Then proprietary resins to fill in, where necessary. Phil did all this. A mind-boggling endeavor approached with confidence, if not a kind of glee.
The result took my breath away. Completely restored. The joining invisible. How? I’ll never understand. But something precious was brought back from the dead, and I will be forever grateful.
You may not need restoration of an 18th C. colonial alabaster sculpture. Fine. I have since used Phil on paintings, polychrome sculpture, pre-Columbian ceramics. Phil is dedicated, a problem solver, with great taste and scholarship with amazing technical stills.
Highest possible recommend. Obviously.
Mark Olsen
Pasadena, CA
“Phillip Aguirre has been repairing art and antiques from our collection for almost 20 years. The best way to list the treasures he has revived is to stroll from room to room and have a good look around. In the living room his work is everywhere: the antique walnut Dutch table with a fabulous faux bois top, almost ruined from water dripping upon it from a leak in the ceiling above, for instance. He also replaced the pietra dura (hard stone, sometimes semi-precious such as porphyry )missing from a small table cabinet from the Italian Renaissance. .He has also created an appropriate metal-work key lost from a drawer in the cabinet’s interior.” This talented craftsman has also revived 18th Century Chinese wallpaper removed from a mansion in London during the Regency period, circa 1813 as well as restored K’ang si lacquer wall panels.
He has also perfectly matched the seashell inlay of a Korean cabinet, circa 1810. In the adjacent library he has restored the intricate facade of an alabaster modellino of cathedrl in Tuscany. And around the corner in the in the kitchen and breakfast room he has repaired and re-grouted early 18th blue and white Dutch tiles, inset into the walls and backsplash of the kitchen.
Phillip Aguirre has also repaired my costume jewelry to include rare vintage Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent as well early 20th century rare and collectible pieces. Sometimes matching stones to inset where they are missing. He has rescued countless little objects from ruin—a silver artichoke salt shaker from the craftsmen of Missiaglia, Venice and several pieces from the china closet stocked with plates of rustic New Milford lettuce leaf pottery to mid-century fantasies of Piero Fornasetti.
From the very beginning of our business relationship Phillip has never looked down his nose on any piece I have given to him in need of restoration, including those without intrinsic value, WHICH MIGHT HAVE SEEMED worthless in the eyes of others. Phillip manages to restore such a piece for his own satisfaction as well as for the owners.
Phillip Aguirre is passionate about his work. He finds joy in discovery of old materials to use for his restorations. For example, he has recently completed a mural painted for a wall in a private garden—a great success. As it ages the mural should become more beautiful—and I daresay, more Pompeiian. Some of the minerals he uses to mix his colors are gathered from the slopes surrounding Mount Vesuvius and would have certainly been used to paint the famous frescos that still endure despite the Volcano’s catastrophic disasters centuries ago.
I have recommended Phillip Aguirre countless times for his consistently fine work. In the future I shall continue to seek his valued advice and expertise.
“I have been working with Phillip for over 20 years, both as a client,and as a customer. In that time, he has never failed to find a creative method to solve the problem, create a color or texture or difficult finish. As an example, we had damage to one of a pair of
18th century hand-painted chinese screens and Phillip found a way to repair and paint so it was perfect. He is especially good with antique finishes and restoring natural wood pieces to their intended look.
There is no job for which he does not have the solution. I recommend him highly!”
“Phil Aguirre is a genius. His restoration skills based on his vast experience and his knowledge of historical materials make him the go-to expert by museums, churches, fine art auction houses and knowledgeable art patrons.
His capabilities seem endless and his restorations almost defy anyone knowing and seeing what has been re-done. His work is beyond repair which is why it is termed -restoration.
He also restores the high intrinsic cultural value of objects as well as its underlying commercial value. He and his assistant, Mary, are a delight to work with – always positive and just as excited about the work and its outcome as is the patron.”
“Phillip Aguirre is a very talented individual. When seeking out restorations of our indoor and outdoor statues, I came across Phillip and his talents.
“The outdoor statues before looks very weathered and were damaged badly and broken. Once completed they looked like new, not 100 years old.”
“Phillip was the person I consulted after having a family heirloom damaged from smoke from the wildfires. It is an 1854 print and was very, very fragile. I was astonished at the beauty of Phillip’s work. He not only appreciated this beautiful work of art, he restored it to its’ original form, understanding that it didn’t need to be all “shiny and new,” but could and should look like an antique. Plus, he’s on time.
Plus, he’s nice!!! Plus, his fees are fair and definitely more reasonable than several other dealers I consulted on the West Side. I cannot recommend his work enough. I met with him after viewing his web site and was sold on his reputation and personable nature. I hope he will publish photos of my piece on his site – before and after. Katharine Manning, Pasadena CA 1/5/2019″
“We highly recommend Aguirre Restoration. Many of our works of art suffered severe damage from heat, smoke and water as a result of a house fire. Phillip did an amazing restoration job in a variety of media (oil, watercolor, pencil, pen & wash, prints, yarn), and worked wonders on several pieces of antique furniture.
It has been a joy to work with him and Mary. They kept in touch with our insurance agent, provided us with regular updates on the restoration process, and were eager to share the techniques used.
Each item was afforded the same detailed, loving care, even if its value was purely sentimental. We are so pleased with the outcome of this project.”
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