Baroque statues around Manětín, Western Bohemia

Geoscience Research Reports 37, 2004 (GRR for 2003), pages 154–157

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Abstract

A set of about 70 Baroque statues disseminated around Manetin (Western Bohemia) is reported to be at the end of its life. They have been made of the local medium to coarse-grained arkoses and conglomerates. Their degradation and weathering preferentially affect feldspars, which form about 30 % of rocks. Disintegration of feldspars into grains leads to surface coarsening of statues and the loss of artistic details. Statues must be thus quickly conserved at least by hydrophobisation.