Hahnemann Report

Hahnemann Monument Restoration Report

Tenth Report: September 28, 2005
by Sandra M. Chase, MD, DHt


Having had several telephone conversations with Karen Cucurullo of the National Park Service about the return of Senior Conservator Judy Jacob to continue work on the restoration of the Hahnemann Monument, Dr. Chase learned that Ms. Jacob would be in town the week of September 26-30, 2005 to resume the renovations.

Dr. Chase and her office manager Christina Caffi drove into Scott Circle in Washington, DC, in the late morning of Wednesday, September 28, to observe the progress of the renovation. On their arrival they found Senior Conservator Jacob working with a new pair of colleagues. She had been joined on the site by Catherine Dewey, Regional Architectural Conservator for the National Park Service, and Consultant John Twilley, Art Conservation Scientist.

Although the repair on the mosaic had been completed in the spring, there was still a scaffold in front of the Hahnemann statue to facilitate the restoration work on the bronze statue itself. Substantial portions of the statue of Hahnemann have been cleaned and waxed, the latter to protect it from the elements. An area represented by his shoes and the drape of his robe to the right still showed the green color of the effects of the elements. The back of the statue had been deliberately left untreated so that Mr. Twilley could take specimens from the surface of the bronze to determine the make-up of the original patina of the statue.

This fall the statue of Hahnemann and the bronze entablatures that flank it will be totally cleaned and waxed. This will give a uniform dark brown color to these structures. It may be possible, via the samples taken by Mr. Twilley, to determine what the original patina of the bronze had been. Ms. Jacob explained that it is difficult to know for sure because artists who worked in bronze kept secret the means by which they achieved the patina in their bronze work.

Additionally, this fall the granite structure of the Hahnemann Monument will receive a general cleaning. It is of note that the monument again suffered spray painting by vandals this year which the park service had to remove. The paving stones at the front of the monument also will be reset to restore alignment of the courses and to regain an even surface.

While we were reviewing the monument and its site, we were pleased to see that the oak tree planted to the right of the monument in the fall of 2004 had not only survived, but had grown.

Due to the painstaking research and the meticulous care undertaken in the restoration of the Hahnemann Monument and its site, a date for the completion of the work cannot yet be set. In a telephone conversation with NPS Karen Cucurullo today, Dr. Chase learned that, while the Park Service is undertaking work on some 100 monuments under its purview, the Hahnemann Monument is receiving particular attention because of our interest and support. We will continue to monitor the progress.

About the Author


Sandra M. Chase, MD, DHt, who led the fundraising drive on behalf of the American Institute of Homeopathy Hahnemann Monument Restoration Project, is the chairman of the AIH Hahnemann Monument Preservation Committee. Dr. Chase has been in the private practice of classical homeopathic family medicine for over 30 years in Fairfax, Virginia. Secretary of the American Board of Homeotherapeutics and of the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia Convention of the United States, she continues to serve also on the Executive Committee of the Liga Medicorum Homeopathica Internationalis and the Board of the American Institute of Homeopathy. In the spring of 2004 she was the recipient of the NCH Henry N. Williams Professional Service Award and in the fall of 2004 she was the recipient of the prestigious Liga President of Honor, only bestowed six times in the 80-year history of the Liga.