The following photo shows a pair of Minton (English) compotes, badly broken when a shelf collapsed. They are of Pattern 8800 C, from the 1860-1865 period, quite unique, hand-decorated, and are of the finest and whitest porcelain.

Fortunately, these particular items had not been tampered with, and we were not faced with the prospect of dismantling and cleaning up prior repairs and stains.

After bonding the broken pieces with a clear adhesive that resists discoloring and carefully cleaning the excess adhesive from the surfaces, the Minton compotes appear as shown here. (For scale, these stands are approximately 4.5-inches tall and 9.25-inches in diameter).

Finally, a view of one of the Compotes alone. Here we use less image compression to provide a better on-screen view.

I particularly enjoyed this project. Here's why:

• There were no missing pieces, and no filling was required.

• The originals were beautifully crafted of the most pure and unblemished porcelain, with no apparent stress in firing.

• Because the pieces were clean and fit together so precisely, the bond lines are nearly invisible and cannot be seen at normal viewing distance. Hence, these items appear completely undamaged and original, yet are free of any artificial coatings.

• Adhesive used has proven record of maintaining its clear and unobtrusive character. While extremely strong, it can be easily dismantled (reversed) should this ever be necessary.

• Here was another opportunity to preserve a bit of the World's history for future generations, without inflicting any damage while doing so.

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