Traditions and Trends in Furniture Conservation, 2005
23 pages
English

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23 pages
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Traditions and Trends in Furniture Conservation, 2005

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Traditions and Trends in Furniture Conservation Antoine M. Wilmering W  g-g g  v (1750  1790); w  g   g (1790  1820); w   y g (1820  1850); w v,   y! —John A. Heaton, 1888 [1, . 5]
AA is review examines the development of the furniture conservation profession from its origin to the early years of the emerging discipline by examining selected relevant literature. Furniture repair and restoration traditionally has been the domain of trained joiners and cabinetmakers. Its strong ties to traditional woodworking have been elemental in shaping the profession as it emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s in Europe and the United States. From the end of the nineteenth century onwards, in a parallel development, furniture repair also became a popular pastime with amateur woodworkers. Influenced by progress in research, develop -ments in philosophy and ethics, and by treatment strategies of allied conservation disciplines, furniture conservation became an established professional field. Introduction O nn2 9eat  rmMaiaanky yeh rd ei anhy a iGdnr  reteehpnea ilraeletded ,  sap Mdriaensssgka  [co2fh ]u1. 8se4t5t,is s, E drdeescwkoa rrpddr eeJdse uninnm eahrib slC yda irwaparesy n ttthheera, t  aro s1nt9  -tpyhieeeac rem- ooolfr dfn uiarnpngpi rtoeuf nreti tchue racsta dtbahiye,-  young woodworker had repaired because all of his earlier diary entries refer exclusively to making new furniture. Carpenter had been an apprentice with the firm Miles & Lyons since April 1842 and the work of this young craftsman was exemplary of a tradition that was centuries old: joiners and cabinetmakers repaired worn or damaged furniture as part of their job [2, 3].
Early records on furniture repair such as the diary of Carpenter are, however, relatively scarce. Although historic documents that list objects or craftsmen are plentiful, these often do not reveal any substantial information on the nature of the repair work and notes often are incomplete and cryptic. Traditionally, craftsmen of every art and trade were involved in repair and restoration work in the area of their expertise. But social changes, beginning in the eighteenth century, caused a shift in labour practices that resulted in (among other things) greater freedom for craftsmen [4–6]. Craftsmen in the New World, for example, often crossed trade boundaries and were ‘jacks of all trades,’ in order to meet growing demands for skills [7, p. 43]. Cabinetmakers, joiners and hobbyists began specializing in repair work, which ultimately led to the development of the furniture conservation profession.
Due to the large volume of material, this review examines selectively trade publications, account books, cabinetmakers manuals and how-to books; and it traces the early development of the furniture conserva -tion profession through a series of articles, published and unpublished, and documents of professional conservation organizations.
NOTE: is article first appeared in IIC’s vw  v , Volume 5 (2004), pp. 22-37. Wg:     F v
Joiners and abinetmakers as epairmen 40, 78]. e account books of the Dominy family In the second half of the fifteenth century, the of East Hampton, New York reveal that repairs of sculptor and woodworker Benedetto da Maiano furniture and household objects were carried out reputedly made two inlaid chests for King Mat - on a regular basis between 1765 and 1820 [22]. In thias Corvinus of Hungary [8]. According to Gior - 1775, for example, Nathaniel Dominy II was paid gio Vasari the chests were transported to Hungary fifteen shillings for ‘repairing a Chest of Drawers by ship. e high humidity levels at sea during throu[ghou]t’ [22, p. 358], which implies that he the journey, likely combined with slow travel and must have done a very thorough job. Often, how -inadequate packing methods, apparently caused ever, it is not clear from account-book entries the much of the inlay to fall out. It is said that Bene - extent of repair work, and only occasionally were detto repaired the damage in situ at the Hungarian details of the work written down. Vernacular fur -court [8]. niture and royal furnishings alike were subject to neglect, mistreatment, abuse and of course natural It might be presumed that the first choice for hav - ageing, as well as to comprehensive restorations ing broken furniture repaired would be the crafts - and alterations, which were routinely performed man like Benedetto da Maiano who had originally by cabinetmakers in Europe and the United States. created it or if he is no longer around for the duty George Nix of London supplied a large number of at hand, perhaps a close relative or an apprentice items to the Earl of Dysart in Ham House, Dorset, familiar with the master’s work. us, in 1540 An - between 1729 and 1734 [23]. During the same peri -gelo da Piacenza, a pupil of Lorenzo and Cristo - od Nix was also engaged in repairing many items at foro da Lendinara, was called upon to do the first Ham, which included strong boxes, candle stands, documented restoration of the wooden choir in a cabinet with silver mounts, a billiard table and a the Duomo of Modena, made by the Lendinara dressing box [11, p. 649]. He received a payment brothers between 1461 and 1465 [9]. According for ‘mending and pollishing a Rosewood Dressing to the chronicler [10], Jacopo De’Bianchi Angelo Box, and a New Lock Ketch and key’ [23, p. 181; made the choir chairs look like new with some Figures 111, 148]. In 1730 Nix also sliced off the top water that he washed them with and then he var - of a Japanese-export lacquer cabinet, altered and nished them with amber. newly gilded the cabinet-support frame, then used the sawed-off top for constructing a new table. Repair work and restoration of wooden objects have continued over the centuries in virtually every For Sawing the top of an India Cabinett, culture. is is evident from trade cards, news - and putting on a Deale top, and Japaning paper advertisements, diary entries and account the top, and New Pollishing the Cabinet and books [11–16]. Many of the records pertaining to Lackering all the brass work £3.10.0. For al -the activities of cabinetmakers in the eighteenth tering the Cabinett frame and New Gilding and nineteenth centuries reveal that repair work of it £4.10.0. For making a Table of the top of furniture was a relatively common practice among a Cabinett and a neat Japaned frame for the their daily duties [16–21]. Account books, ledgers, Table £2.15.0 [11, p. 649; 23, p. 181]. diaries and personal papers, for example, may pro -vide useful information on the nature of repair In Paris, on 29 December 1759, ébeniste S. Joubert work. e account book of an industrious joiner delivered a bureau de travail to the Cabinet Intéri-in Philadelphia, John Head, shows that between eur du Roi in the Petits Appartements at Versailles 1718 and 1753 he repaired a wide variety of furni - for the use of Louis XV [24]. e writing desk was ture as part of his daily business [15]. Tables, chairs, finished with red and gold lacquer and decorated cabinets, ‘a Looking Glass & varnishen’ and ‘pict - with gilt bronze mounts and a black velvet top. er’ frames were mended for various clients [15, pp. It was restored in 1787, a year after the desk had 2005 WAG P—M, M
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