Fixing broken alabaster

Quoted text begins.I have to wonder sometimes what a sculptor who has spent a lot of time
on a carving does when they find themselves suddenly staring at a nice
piece that was accidentally broken in the process of carving.
End of quote.

Ted
I like the way you worked with your customer, and gave him the final say on
accepting or rejection the less then perfect piece.
I've had to repair and refinish my own work that is brought back to me, and
I've repaired other carvers pieces. I always say that a glued joint will
never be invisible. I don't promise perfection. I like to take a picture of
the damaged piece to compare with the final result in case my customer
"forgets" how much work needed to be done. I guess its a compliment when I'm
told that it doesn't look like I did anything. Anyway it's very rare to run
into an unappreciative customer.
I've never taken on portrait carving, but I expect that a broken nose would
make the sculptor start all over.
I have learned that there is a huge space for redesigning and recarving in
figurative subjects to remove small problems. The intuitive feel of the
connections between mass and form tells me how much I can change an area to
remove problems. usually the removal of some stone leads to a subtle
recarving of the whole area so it looks and feels right.
Finally, gluing is sometimes acceptable, and there are water clear epoxies
and uv ray resistant epoxies that make the yellow stuff a thing of the past.
For example, gluing a broken piece back on a coarse, textured area can be
finished to make the repair invisible. Gluing a polished piece back together
usually never looks right.
Learning from your mistakes is very effective, so when I've broken
something, I learn to not do it again!
Keep your chisels sharp,
George Graham