Gibraltar Gardens boasts a varied collection of garden ornaments that highlight focal points of the garden and create picturesque settings and beautiful vistas. The garden ornaments complete the overall experience of the historic garden as originally intended by landscape architect Marian Cruger Coffin. Most of the ornaments were installed between 1917 and 1923 as part of Marian Coffin's conception for the formal garden. Coffin's design for the Gibraltar garden is based on Italian Renaissance gardens, and thus relies heavily on formal symmetry and axes with carefully placed garden sculpture to create attractive niches and elegant vistas.

Superbly carved from Mediterranean limestone or modeled in lead, the thirty-three limestone and seven lead ornaments are rich with detail and texture. Based on Marian Coffin's design direction, H. Rodney and Isabella Sharp purchased these ornaments as antiques or contemporary objects during the family's travels in Europe in the 1910s and 1920s or from antiques dealers in Philadelphia and New York. Many of the ornaments are of European origin and some of the pieces once graced the gardens of villas in the Italian countryside. During their residence at Gibraltar, the Sharp family continued to select interesting garden ornament, adding them to their collection and rearranging locations throughout the garden.

Adopt-a-Sculpture

Would you or your family, organization, or business like to take a personal role in helping to return Gibraltar Gardens to its original splendor? As part of the on-going restoration of the Gibraltar Gardens, Preservation Delaware, Inc. announces its ADOPT-A-SCULPTURE program-a campaign to match interested individuals and groups with garden ornaments and sculptures in order to fund their restoration and maintenance. The ADOPT-A-SCULPTURE program lets you to show your support for historic preservation, garden history, and the Gibraltar estate. In doing so, you will join the hundreds of committed preservationists who have made the restoration at Gibraltar a reality. 

The ADOPT-A-SCULPTURE program provides the financial support for the conservation treatment and annual maintenance program for each sculpture. Adopters will bring the Gibraltar garden restoration to completion by underwriting the costs for conserving and maintaining the sculptures. As the adopter of a garden ornament, you will help to recreate the classical beauty and elegance of the garden as it originally appeared. In turn, you will make an important lasting contribution to the continued enjoyment of Gibraltar Gardens by creating a special place for yourself and the community. 

The forty sculptures and ornaments at Gibraltar are an integral component of the garden's design and appearance (link to garden ornament history). However, over the past eighty years, the ornaments did not received the professional care and maintenance necessary to keep them in top form. As a result, they now display the ravages of decades of weather conditions and pollution. To be returned to their original beauty and elegance, the garden ornaments require complex, labor-intensive work by highly skilled art conservation professionals.

CONDITION AND CONSERVATION DETAILS 

With the support of an SOS! Conservation Assessment Award and a Delaware Division of the Arts Project Support grant, Preservation Delaware contracted with a sculpture conservator to survey the collection and provide a report with conservation recommendations. The condition survey included four days of careful on-site inspection and analysis of the ornaments. The current condition of all of the garden ornament is typical of limestone and lead sculptures that have been in an outdoor setting for up to 85 years. In most cases, the stone is badly eroded by weather conditions. Sculptural details are soft and scratches, abrasions, and chips are common on the pieces. Furthermore, all of the ornaments display considerable accumulations of dirt, staining, and algae. In some case, the damage is more dramatic, with lost fragments and major breaks. Most of the ornaments are composed of numerous, stacked parts that could be easily toppled by accidental or intentional pushing. Some large pieces were simply placed directly on the ground surface and need a secure, permanent footing. 

Conservation for most of the sculptures includes careful cleaning to remove surface and sub-surface staining, algae, and mineral deposits. Loose and broken fragments are adhered and previous, unsightly repairs are removed and made more attractive. In selected situations, missing pieces are modeled and cast to create replacement parts. In a few cases, the current state of disrepair for the sculptures necessitates replacement of the entire object. In these situations, adoption will provide funds to replace the original object with an exact replica or closely matched object. Finally, because Gibraltar is now a public garden, it is of extreme importance to ensure that the ornaments are installed securely. Therefore, each object will be reinstalled with stainless steel pins to ensure the utmost stability and safety.

ADOPTION PROCEDURES 

We invite potential adopters to select their favorite sculpture from the Gibraltar garden. The collection includes a wide variety of pieces that will appeal to everyone, and donors may choose an ornament with a subject or theme appeals to them. Because the objects require expensive conservation treatments, we strongly encourage groups and businesses to collaborate on adoption efforts. Preservation Delaware staff members are happy to work with corporations, community groups, and clubs to coordinate group campaigns to adopt a sculpture. Adopters agree to fully fund the proposed conservation treatment for a selected sculpture. Funds may be donated at one time or over a period of time as agreed upon by the adopter and Preservation Delaware. At the completion of the conservation treatment, adopters and adoptive groups will be recognized with a brass plaque mounted on or near their sculpture. 

Individuals and groups that wish to support the ADOPT-A-SCULPTURE program, but would rather not pledge the full amount to adopt a particular sculpture may choose to contribute to the general ADOPT-A-SCULPTURE fund that will be pooled with other general contributions. This general fund will be used to conserve and maintain high-priority sculptures selected by Preservation Delaware and the Garden Advisory Committee. All contributors to this fund will be recognized on a sign installed in the Gibraltar garden at the completion of all restoration efforts. 

In addition to the antique garden ornament that is in need of repair, there are a variety of new items that are being supported through the Adopt-a-Sculpture program. In order to re-create the original ambience and appearance of the garden, teak and stone garden benches and assorted planting containers will be added to several locations. Benches are based on originals that were in the gardens and are necessary to provide additional seating now that the site is open to the public. The containers and their plantings will match those visible in historic photographs.

MAINTENANCE PROGRAM 

Pledges of time and money are also essential for establishing an annual maintenance program for the sculptures. Schools, families, individuals, scout troops, and other groups who would like to show their support for the Gibraltar ADOPT-A-SCULPTURE program and learn techniques for caring for outdoor sculpture can pledge their time to the annual washing and maintenance of the Gibraltar garden ornaments. Annual cleaning will prevent recurring damage and will ensure a well-maintained collection for years to come. On a yearly basis, interested groups will have the opportunity to gain some hands-on experience with the upkeep of the sculptures as they work under the guidance of a conservator and Preservation Delaware staff to clean the accumulation of grime and algae from the sculptures.

As you consider your sculpture adoption, please call Preservation Delaware, Inc. to discuss your selection and check availability of specific sculptures. Contact us at (302) 651-9617.  Thank you for taking the time to consider supporting this important part of the Gibraltar restoration!