How should I fix this broken carving?

I would use super glue, small drops hold stuff together really well. If it is really valuable have it professionally restored.

I would get a professional to work on it. If it is valuable, even just from a sentimental perspective, and you can afford it, get someone who really know what they are doing to repair it. Hope it works out.

I am a wood carver and my favorite subject is long necked sea birds. The necks often break if I try to put too severe a curve in them. The best and easiest way to correct is to drill a small hole in each piece, try to line it up but it does not have to be precise because you will use a piece of small wire or a toothpick to reinforce. If the hole you drilled is slightly larger than the reinforcer you can manipulate the two pieces, keeping the toothpick in place but still perfectly aligning the 2 pieces. Make sure this will work and then fill the holes with wood glue, stick the toothpick in, clamp the 2 pieces together and keep them clamped until the glue is completely dry.

It is a pretty simple procedure, very strong too.

Be careful… I used Gorilla Glue on a wood piece once and even though it was clear, it dried white and is totally visible. FYI.

I had a similar experience, where a wooden three dimensional piece of art fell, and broke. I took it to an art gallery that was owned by an artist, and he repaired it for me, sealing and repainting where it was mended so it wasn’t visible. I was concerned that if I tried to fix it myself, I would do something that would diminish the value of the piece.

What you want is advice from a professional, and the people who can best advise you are museum technicians. They specialize in restorations and repairs, and know methods for both visible and invisible repair. Visible repair jobs are subtle, but the join is left deliberately visible so that the observer knows it is not the original configuration as the artist intended. Even tiny changes have artistic impact and if, as you say, it has significant artistic value, you may have an ethical responsibility to leave the damage slightly visible for posterity. In any case, they would be best to advise you on it.

The best place to talk to a museum technician is either at your local university or at your local museum, whichever is available where you live.

@SmashTheState : Very GA. Just FYI, a museum specialist can advise about appropriate hanging techniques as well, that will help minimize the chance that it will fall.

If you’re wanting to go full-blown restoration, follow @SmashTheState ‘s advice. If you just want to get it back on your wall and looking unbroken, it should glue well.

You have all the stars aligned for being able to pull off a good glue joint: the pieces fit together without gaps, the wood is lightweight (therefore porous), and will have broken along grain lines.

CA glues (AKA“super glue”) may not be the best choice. They work best when you can guarantee zero gap in the joint. Wood breaks are rarely that clean. You would certainly need the gel-style glue to keep it from being absorbed into the wood pores before it can cure.

There is a very nice glue, Weldbond , that would do just what you’re hoping for. It dries clear, doesn’t soak into porous wood, ages well, and forms a joint stronger than the surrounding wood.

Your main problem in gluing this piece will be avoiding squeeze-out, excess glue oozing from the joint when you push it together. The Weldbond will help you with this. Here’s the technique: Squeeze some of the glue into a small container (e.g. jar lid). Dilute it with about 5 times as much water. Use a brush (go to Home Depot’s welding section and buy a pack of cheap “flux brushes” for this job; they’re the perfect size and stiffness) to paint this onto all of the surfaces to be joined. Let this dry completely. This is a primer coat that seals the wood grain.

Next, prepare some more glue, but only very slightly diluted to make it possible to brush it on thinly. Brush evenly and thinly onto the two sides of the joint. Allow the glue to dry until it becomes tacky, then fit the joint together and apply hand pressure (no need to clamp). Since the glue is no longer really liquid when the joint is pressed. there isn’t any squeeze-out. If you do happen to get any glue outside the joint, it can be wiped away with a damp rag before it dries.

The joints dry in about an hour, but reach maximum strength in 24 hrs. Because your piece is twisty, you’ll probably have to do one joint at a time, bolstering the piece with rolled towels so the joint can dry without strain.

Good luck!

Read @rooeytoo‘s advice and practice on some scrap wood. You’ve got your professional advice (or experienced amateur, which can be equally valid), and it didn’t cost you a thing.

GA there.

If you are in USA I was just reading on a carving list about a product called QuikWood. It comes in stick form, 2 parts, cut off equal amount of both pieces, knead together and then apply. You can work it for about 10 minutes and it gets hard as a rock in an hour. Sounds like good stuff, I am going to look for it here. Cutting 2 equal pieces of something sounds easier than squirting out 2 equal puddles.

As an artist, I would encourage you to contact the creator of your piece (if still living and “find-able” on the internet or through a gallery) as he or she is going to be the person most capable of fixing the piece and painting over any repairs. If the artist “fixes” your piece, it doesn’t lose value—it is still his/her artwork. If you (or a restoration specialist) makes the repair, there will be a lose in value.