By
Luis Stortini Sabor
My name is Luis Stortini Sabor.
I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1959 and began
my practice as antique furniture restorer nine years ago.
My area of work comprehends XVIII and XIX century French,
British and American furniture and in a less important way,
wooden objects.
This interesting piece of furniture belongs to the National Museum of
Decorative Arts in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was made
in France in the XVIII Century by the cabinetmaker Louis-Noël
Malle, who was reputed as a master in the marquetry and
intarsia work. It's a minor work due to its not so much
sophisticated panels in lacquer and mother of pearl and
the obvious use of relative common woods in its structure.
I was consulted due to the fact of both front legs having
collapsed during the transportation of the object.
It's left leg ha
d fallen into pieces showing the misfortuned previous restoration which
consisted in drilling through the small foot of the "secretaire
a abattant" and gluing there a steel pipe full and surrounded
by a massive amount of polyester resin, tinted in various
colours, and filling this resin all the holes produced by
xylophagous insects. The main reason to be worried about was
the fact that polyester resin is completely IRREVERSIBLE (it
can't be removed neither by chemicals products nor by temperature
changes).
I will show you the methods employed in the restoration of
the left leg, being the most deteriorated.
This picture shows you the extensive damage
made by the wood-eating insects and the deep penetration of
the resin, applied to glue the steel tubing (tinted through
the use of a white "filler"). This piece is one of the two
remains of the left leg
This is the other
piece of the broken left leg. It is clearly seen the use of
three kinds of polyester resin (black, brown and white).
The real problem with these two pieces was the combination
of an extremely deteriorated and fragile wood and an extremely
hard resin embedded in the wood. The challenge was to remove
the resin without more losses of wood and so allowing the
consolidation of it, through the absorption of REVERSIBLE
resins.
The primary step being to eliminate the polyester
resin, I proceed to its mechanical removal through the use
of a high speed mini-drill using extremely tiny steel bits
, with minimum losses of wood.
This mechanical removal of the polyester resin
showed a more extensive deterioration of the legs and the
immediate structures.
Being always unsafe not to suppose an active
work of the xylophagous insects, all affected sections of
the secretaire were treated with a combination of insecticides
dissolved in organic solvents.
Due to the extensive damage and the need of a deep penetration,
was developed a system of slow and progressive (drop by drop)
penetration of the insecticides. A very similar procedure
was used to allow the penetration of the consolidating resin.
The method chosen to preserve the original SURFACE
of the legs was the use of a wooden cylindrical core that,
going through all the length of the legs, would became the
real supporting segment, and using the old leg as decorative
surface. It was necessary to mold a resin piece for the left
leg that allowed to join and glue the remains of it, so as
to be drilled along its main axis.
The wooden cores were made from cylindrical
pieces of a very hard and reliable wood.
Once tested the cores and drilled
the old legs and posts, the cores were glued with animal hide
glue (you guessed: REVERSIBLE). Some sections were painted
with water -colour painting (REVERSIBLE again) so as to avoid
attracting attention and allowing the appreciation of the
object.
Once finished the previous step, the old leg
is mounted over the wooden core and the bronze ferrule is
attached to the core. In this way the bronze ferrules and
the wooden cores glued to the posts became the real legs of
the secretaire and the old ones remained to preserve the aesthetic
unity of the object.
Suggestions, comments, restoration counseling?. Don't doubt,
eMail me. Please be brief and I will reply
as soon as possible. For general ideas consult my pages.
