19th C. Cabinet with Painted Canvas-panel Inlays

Object Description:

The object is a painted wooden cabinet with two large doors opening to two shelves inside, with two shallow drawers below. The fronts of the drawers and doors have painted canvas panels installed over the wooden substrate, other sections of the woodwork are directly painted. There is a spiral twist pattern ornament around the outer edges of the drawer fronts, possibly gilded or painted gold though now quite worn. There are simple half-round molding sections around the door front panels, though these are likely a later additions/replacements, as they have excess gold over-paint which drips onto the original painted surfaces. The painted decorations depict putti and sea-horses with various scrollwork in shades of gold, black, and brown on a pale green field. There is metal hardware (pull-handles) on the drawer fronts and right door, with an apparent latch missing from the upper right door. Each door is hung with two metal hinges (4 screws each).

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 an aqueous treatment was chosen as the most effective and least damaging cleaning method. The paint was very sensitive in all polar solvents, so an MSA resin was chosen as a consolidating and varnishing system.

The aqueous cleaning removed substantial amounts of grime, smoke residue, and other   discolorations and accretions. There was minimal blanching with the pH adjusted solution.

The canvas panels were removed from the doors and residual adhesive was removed by sanding the residue off both door and panel backs. The painted surfaces were consolidated with a suitable synthetic resin. The Canvas Panels were lined with an intermediary fabric and synthetic resin designed for paintings lining.  The lined Canvas Panels were reattached to the Door Panels.

Structural losses in the cabinet case were addressed by filling losses with wood epoxy and/or stabilizing  rotted elements by replacement of wood fills.  With the assistance of an expert cabinet-maker, the doors were reattached and the distortions inherent in the warped panel was minimized to the extent possible. Old screws were replaced but the original hinges were used (because a modern replacement was not available, also the outsides of the hinges are painted with original paint. All exterior hardware was cleaned to remove corrosion, and waxed with microcrystalline wax. Cleaned hardware was replaced in original position after cleaning and reapplication of the canvas panels. Missing trim pieces were refabricated manually, and door trim was replaced with a more appropriate trim, thinner in dimension and in a similar spiral twist pattern as the drawer trim. This was painted/textured to a sympathetic color with a high-quality acrylic paint. The door was fitted with a modern magnetic catch (on the interior) to help mitigate the warped door-panel and for ease of functional use in the client's home.

The client requested a false top be installed to level the top surface of the cabinet for display purposes. The false top was created and installed by an expert cabinetmaker, and PAC painted/textured it to match the original materials.  In general, any areas of new restoration were filled and textured to visually integrate with the surrounding original areas, and inpainted to match.  However, any discoloration, losses, staining, or other visual disfigurations of the original  painted surfaces were first isolated with the overall consolidation layer and then inpainted with a conservation specific inpainting system, which is fully reversible in naphtha due to the isolation layer. After visual compensation the   entire cabinet (original and restoration elements) was varnished with a final coat of MSA resin varnish, applied as an aerosol coating to finish and protect the inpainting underneath from subsequent handling.