C. 1860 Painted Side Chair

Object Description:

High backed upholstered side chair with ornate gold and jewel toned painted details on legs, stiles, and rails. Flat panel with floral rosemuling at upper center crest-rail. Modern rose-colored seat fabric and braid, replaced in 2012.  The chair was damaged by a water leak, though the leak was found and controlled quickly the water resulted in significant damage and loss to the painted and gilded surfaces of the chair.  

Treatment:

In accordance with AIC documentation guidelines the object was photographed Before, During, and After treatment. Localized testing was conducted to determine chemical sensitivity of the object and suitability of any materials used in the treatment.  Due to sensitivity of surfaces a water-soluble synthetic resin was chosen for both consolidation and filling.  The paint layers were consolidated and stabilized in the most damaged areas to prevent further loss. Local application of heat and pressure was used to realign lifting paint films. After surface stabilization was complete in the most unstable areas, the surface was cleaned overall using soft brushes and a HEPA filtered variable suction vacuum. The object was cleaned overall with cotton dampened with distilled water, to remove encrusted grime and residual consolidant.  

After drying thoroughly the object was he object was varnished overall with a coat of synthetic resin varnish. This both saturated the original aged varnish layer and provides a separation layer between the original material and the fills/inpainting that were added subsequently. Surface losses were filled with a thicker concentration of aqueous synthetic resin, which was toned to match the original surface color, and filled to mimic the level and texture of adjacent areas. This technique was also used to level and visually minimize losses on the legs, seat rails, and other areas that may not have been directly related to the water damage incident, but were none-the-less visually disruptive. 

Inpainted losses and fills to match using high-quality acrylic colors, dry pigments, and metallic pigments in synthetic resin. Utilized pre-damage photos as much as possible to recreate heavily damaged areas, however the images were generally of low resolution, and so detail was lacking. As such, the floral areas at center back are artistic approximations of the original design to the best of this conservator’s ability, utilizing typical decorations found on other historical furniture objects of similar age and utility. Local varnish application was applied to heavily repaired areas to match surface sheen of original finish. The object was varnished overall with a spray coat of synthetic resin varnish applied by airbrush to complete the treatment.