19 minute read
11 Furniture
11
Furniture
Advertisement
Title/Topic
Entrance door of the old church of Sant Pere in Can Miró de Navata
Author
Unknown
Date/Period
Romanesque, 12th century
Dimensions
250 × 67 cm (each of the door
CRBMC REGISTER NO
12097.1
Restoration
Caterina Aguer
Year of restoration
2018
The entrance to the Romanesque church of Can Miró de Navata is made of poplar wood —anatomy analysed by Raquel Piqué Horta, professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Department of Prehistory— and decorated with wrought iron. It consists of two leaves and is supported on the wall by four iron hinges. The iron ornamentation is fastened to the wood, at different points, by means of wrought iron nails —some spherical and others cubed, the latter with an incised cross. This decoration is divided into six horizontal sections, separated by a straight line. In each of the sections, spirals are displayed in a repetitive pattern, except in the central section, where the handle and the bolt are located, which closes the door like a snake’s head. In the upper section the spirals are smaller and are topped with cone-shaped nails.
State of conservation
The Romanesque door had already been the subject of a conservation-restoration intervention in 2000.
The intervention that took place in 2018 respected, at all times, the previous action that had been carried out. The intervention was only carried out after the presence of a black layer on the surface of the door was detected –only on the part that is in contact with the outside, but not on the inside. This layer prevented the original wood and iron from being seen correctly. This darkening could be the consequence of the application of linseed oil, which would have caused a chemical oxidation reaction in direct and prolonged contact with the sun’s rays and rainwater.
Intervention
The conservation-restoration intervention consisted, initially, in a general cleaning of the dirt and accumulated dust over the whole surface, working very carefully to reach the most hidden and least accessible corners.
Subsequently, on the outside, the linseed oil layer, which had blackened over time and was heavily encrusted, was removed. Suitable blasting techniques were used to perform the cleaning. The conservator-restorer was suitably protected when carrying out the task. On the inside of the door, the linseed oil layer was mechanically removed using solvents. Finally, conservator-restorer gave the iron decoration –interior and exterior– a once over mechanically with the help of different steel cutters.
In final part of the intervention with a view to the final presentation, the two materials used in the door were protected: wood and iron. To protect the wood, a lasur-type product was used, an impermeable coating that penetrates deeply into the wood without forming a layer, so it leaves an open pore finish that regulates the moisture of the wood and facilitates the exit of water vapour from its interior. To protect the iron, a penetrating antioxidant oil was used that prevents oxidation and the reappearance of corrosion.
— Caterina Aguer
Door during the sandblasting process
Back of the door after the intervention
Door after the restoration
Material/Technique
Linden wood (structure); oil-painted linen cloth (exterior lining); upholstery, with different fabrics, such as silk, and glass in the windows (interior lining)
Date/Period
Last quarter of the 18th century
Dimensions
157.5 × 80 × 75 cm
Location
National Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia (MNACTEC), Terrassa (Vallès Occidental county)
CRBMC Register NO
12259
Restoration Marta Vilà
Year of restoration
2014
Sedan chairs, still used today in certain parts of the Far East, where they originated, were, along with stretchers and litters, one of the oldest means of transportation. Reserved especially for the most important or distinguished people in society and carried by servants, they were widely used in Europe from the 16th century until well into the 19th century.
The structural base of this specimen is a light construction of linden wood, covered on the outside with oil-painted cloth. Inside, it is upholstered in silk. Due to its function, this piece must have been highly exposed to inclement weather and, at the same time, subjected to the impact of movements and vibrations typical of a means of transport. For this reason, throughout its history it has undergone various «repairs» and restorations, mainly focused on fixing the tears and holes that in the painted fabric of the exterior lining. These basically involved reinforcing the damaged areas with pieces of cloth stuck with thick layers of glue, on the back of the original, which were hidden by the silk upholstery of the interior. On the outside, it had been retouched, or repainted, mimicking the original colour. These interventions, carried out according to techniques of the time had ended up compromising the stability of the lining fabric, and causing deformations and even the detachment of some parts of the pictorial layer. This was aggravated because the wooden structure of the piece was not built to absorb the movements of the fabric covering it, but quite the opposite: being a fixed and rigid structure, it could not move in line with the fabric in its contraction and expansion movements and, therefore, could not correct the undulations and tensions caused by the additions of built-in reinforcement fabrics over time.
Intervention
The intervention carried out in the CRBMC focused, as a trial, on the door of the litter, with the idea of replacing the old pieces used for reinforcement with a system based on less invasive methods. After removing the silk upholstery from the inside, the pieces added in prior interventions to the back of the painted fabric were removed. This was done using a gel applied to a rigid plate, which allowed the application of moisture to be controlled and all the adhesive residues to be carefully removed. Subsequently, with the back of the original fabric clean and free of stress caused by foreign materials, linen cloth grafts were applied to the holes and tears, reinforced with a polyester fabric impregnated with a contact adhesive. Finally, after repositioning the silk fabric on the inside, the chromatic reintegration of the lost painted areas on the outside was carried out, using pigments and retouching varnish.
This intervention, together with the museum’s proper climate control measures, should ensure its proper conservation.
— Marta Vilà
Close-up of the deformations of the fabric and of the losses of pictorial layer, on the door of the chair, before the intervention
Author
Catalan workshop
Date/Period
Final third of the 19th century
Dimensions
650 × 1200 × 120 cm
Location
Monastery of Santa Maria, Ripoll (Ripollès county)
Restoration
Sonia Berrocal, Voravit Roonthiva and Xavier Serra
Assembly
Pau Claramonte, Carmelo Ortega (CRBMC), Voravit Roonthiva and Xavier Serra
Years of restoration
2016-2017
The choir stalls of Santa Maria de Ripoll is a large item of furniture commissioned and built in the context of the renovation and restoration of the monastery that Elies Rogent started in the second half of the 19th century. This item, located in the presbytery and attached to the wall of the apse, was shortlived, as it was dismantled shortly after 1936, and some of its constituent parts were stored until 2016, when they were transferred to the workshops of the Centre for the Restoration of Artefacts of Catalonia (CRBMC) in order to restore them.
State of conservation
Previously, in the spring of 2014, an on-site technical study had been conducted to assess the state of conservation and the number of pieces preserved. It was determined that, of the total that must originally existed, only eight whole chairs were preserved, with some defects and no correspondence between them. The walnut wood support was in an irregular state and, in many cases, showed signs of alteration caused during the storage period. These signs were the result of continued exposure to water leaks, which had caused the proliferation of fungi and microorganisms, which in turn had resulted in an attack by xylophagous insects. This combination had weakened the support and also caused irreversible loss, which made it structurally deficient.
Intervention
The restoration intervention aimed to recover the preserved fragments in order to restore them within their original space, in accordance with the wish of those responsible for the work. Therefore, once in the workshop, all the parts were disinsected and then the support was cleaned and the deteriorated parts were cleared up. The support was then treated by stabilizing the structure of the pieces and making wooden grafts and reinforcements Many missing parts, both structural and decorative, had to be remade with cedar wood in order to obtain parts that were stable enough for assembly.
The anchors between the different parts had to be replaced with new stainless steel parts.
The newly made elements and grafts were stained with alcohol dye in the same tone as the original wood, and the whole set was treated with a stained and burnished beeswax to obtain the finish that the choir stalls must have initially had.
Finally, the whole piece was returned to the monastery, where it was mounted in situ in its place, following the original fitting system: on top of a tailor-made cedar wood platform, the high backs were anchored and secured to the wall of the apse. Four chairs were placed symmetrically on either side of the altar, and in the middle, joining the two parts, the missing area was filled in with new pieces imitating the shapes and final finish of the original chairs, but without reproducing the decoration and carving in detail.
— Voravit Roonthiva
During the assembly tests at the CRBMC
The choir stalls installed in the presbytery after the conservationrestoration work
Part of the choir stalls stored during the 2014 technical study
Title/Topic
Frame of the Hall of the Marquises, Marian iconography
Author
Unknown
Date/Period 17th century
Dimensions 5 × 5.40 m
Coordination Pep Paret
Restoration
Núria Lladó (team leader) and Marta Estadella
Year of restoration
2016
The Moja Palace, the former palace of the Marquis of Comillas, was built by the architect Josep Mas between 1774 and 1789. In 1982 it became the headquarters of the Directorate-General of Cultural Heritage of the Government of Catalonia. For its historical and artistic value, it has been declared a cultural asset of national interest.
Architecturally, it contains elements of the late Baroque period and is heavily influenced by French neoclassicism. Inside it houses important paintings by Francesc Pla and Pere Pau Muntanya, significant items of furniture and numerous decorative arts objects that make up the history of the building.
Description
The carved and gilded wooden frame of the north wing alcove is one of the most remarkable artistic elements that stylistically recalls French classicism and its simple lines.
Diving the space into two rooms, a chamber and an alcove, it maintains the same building structure on both sides, although its decoration varies in richness and composition. Vertically, it is divided into three spaces crowned by three semicircular arches, with the central one higher than the side ones. A cornice creates two heights: the lower one houses the three glazed doors —the central sliding one and the fixed side ones, while the upper one houses the corresponding arches, decorated with plant and religious motifs —central medallions with the Marian symbol and the monogram of Jesus Christ.
State of conservation
In terms of the state of conservation, of particular significance was the poor adhesion between the support and the preparation layers and gilding. The expansion and contraction of the wood, as a result of fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity caused by the air pumps placed just below, had created numerous uplifts, air bubbles, ridges and, ultimately, a loss of gilding. In particular, poor handling of the piece had caused through wear, erosion, knocks, etc.
Given this constant manipulation, restoration work has been continuous over the last few decades. Not dated chronologically, most have focused mainly on preserving the gold polychrome of the wooden support which is very inconsistent. For example, the original gilding in the chamber in a warmer tone, and the more modern gilding above on the alcove side, in a colder tone, were clearly visible. The upper arches and decorations featured another type of gilding, of poorer quality, coated with a film of dark, matte resin. Other subsequent interventions consisted of fixing the detached polychrome and retouching the colour losses with varying degrees of success.
Intervention
Finally, in 2011 it was decided that an urgent and timely intervention should be carried out to reattach the polychrome layer and the preparation layer in the face of their imminent loss. In this action, a part of the gilded surface was papered over and two broken windows of the lower doors were replaced. Later, in 2016, a more comprehensive intervention aimed at preserving the polychrome was started.
This included several processes, such as the overall reattachment of the gilding which had come loose from the support with synthetic and neutral adhesives, the conservative cleaning of these with W/O emulsions, the chromatic reintegration of gaps with water colours and, in the upper part, the reattachment, gluing and recovery of the carvings on the crown.
— Núria Lladó
After the recovery of the relief that crowned the door
Close-up of the Marian symbol, the main decoration of the central door’s semicircular arch
Before the recovery of the relief that crowned the door General image of the carved and gilded wooden frame before the intervention
Object
Furniture (balustrade, tables, shelving, lamps, tripods, etc.), tools (compasses, paintbrushes, colouring pencils, set squares, tape measures, camera, calculator, etc.), samples of construction and decoration materials, plaster casts, personal belongings (medals, watches, etc.), metal printing matrices for books and the terracotta model of the capital of the Dam Montells family’s tomb monument
Origin
Home of Josep Puig i Cadafalch. Carrer de Provença no. 231, Barcelona (Barcelonès county)
Location
Storeroom at the National Archive of Catalonia, Sant Cugat del Vallès (Vallès Occidental county)
CRBMC Register NO
13256
In 2017, as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of the birth of Puig i Cadafalch, the Museum of the History of Catalonia (MHC) hosted an exhibition which put on display some of the architect’s projects and personal objects, which came from his private residence on Carrer de Provença in Barcelona.
These objects had been preserved since his death in 1956, almost unchanged, until the sale of the property, at which time the Government of Catalonia bought the collection of documents, as well as some of his furniture and personal belongings to become part of the National Archive of Catalonia (ANC).
The set of objects consisted of a large tabletop on drawers for storing architectural projects; the table from his office, with chairs; various lamps; wooden shelves and some mesh to store rolled up plans, as well as a large balustrade.
Also included was a set of small work utensils, with brushes, watercolours, rulers, measuring tapes, compasses, scale rulers, calculator and camera, smaller in size and made of wide range of materials (leather, metal, iron, paper, wood and glass). There were also samples of building materials and other personal items and ornamental elements including traceries and plaster reliefs, some by the sculptor Eusebi Arnau i Mascort, such as a terracotta capital from the tomb of the Dam Montells family.
State of conservation
The furniture and larger objects had been altered significantly, caused by excess humidity and direct contact with water. There was a severe and widespread attack of fungi on all surfaces, as well as severe expansions and cracks in the wood, water drops and rising damp.
There were also signs of attack by xylophagous insects, a lot of dirt and an accumulation of dust. In some of these objects,
Large table before the intervention. Drawers where architectural plans were kept the varnished surfaces were badly damaged. The balustrade, for example, was very detached and fragmented.
The small, personal items were in better condition. Some materials displayed signs of natural ageing, dust and alterations due to the use of tools.
Intervention
An anoxic treatment was given to all the objects. These were then vacuumed to remove the fungal spores; this was done using a device with HEPA filters and a systematic anti-fungal treatment was applied.
A general clean was carried out to remove the dirt and the original varnishes were restored. A layer of traditional varnish was applied to certain objects. The tables and chairs were also given a superficial layer of wax finish.
In order to be able to display the balustrade, the wooden fragments were consolidated and reattached and the whole set was reinforced, with two crossbeams, on the back.
The remaining objects underwent a minimal intervention. Only the most deteriorated parts were restored: basically the dust was removed and aqueous solutions were applied to clean them. As for the paper objects, these were flattened, their tears were fixed, their corners were strengthened and their display systems were improved.
— Jesús Zornoza
Carpentry
Carmelo Ortega
Year of restoration
2017
Terracotta capital before the conservationrestoration process
Terracotta capital after the conservationrestoration process
Conservation and restoration of the collections of decorative arts and author-centred art of the Design Museum of Barcelona
Object Various
Material/Technique
Various
Title/Topic Various
Date/Period
13th-20th centuries
Location
Design Museum of Barcelona (Barcelonès county)
Restoration
Koro Abalia, Art-Restauro, Claustre Augé, Carme Balliu, Xisca Bernat, Marta Bosch, Montserrat Cañís, Ana Casal, M. Asunción Casalod, Lourdes Domedel, Joan Escudé, Esther Gual, Carolina Jorcano, Núria Lladó, Èlia López, Silvia Marín, Oriol Mora, Irene Panadés, Restauracions i Reformes Cerdanyola, Laia Roca, Voravit Roonthiva,
The Design Museum of Barcelona was inaugurated in December 2014. The new museum emerged from the creation of a single space for the collections of four museums in Barcelona: the Museum of Decorative Arts, the Museum of Ceramics, the Museum of Textiles and Clothing and the Graphic Arts Cabinet. It is a collection of more than 70,000 objects from different eras.
Of these, a significant number of the decorative arts collections have been restored at the Centre for the Restoration of Artefacts of Catalonia (CRBMC).
It contains more than 200 pieces comprising of: - Caskets and chests. 13th-16th centuries. - Chests with drawers and polychrome wooden Catalan bridal chests. 15th-16th centuries. - Desks. 16th-19th centuries. - Watches. 16th-19th centuries. - Miniature portraits. 17th-19th centuries. - Hand fans. 18th-19th centuries. - Olot-style headboards. 18th centuries. - Endpapers from books. 18th-20th centuries. - Wallpaper. 19th-20th centuries. - Sideboards. Chalkboard Italy (scagliola board) and Mallorca (bufet). 1700-1750. - Carriage bed. Barcelona (?), 1804-1830.
Intervention
The CRBMC was directed and coordinated the conservationrestoration work necessary for the correct preservation of these groups of objects. The different interventions began with an exhaustive scientifictechnical study of the works in order to better understand their history and nature, and their material composition. Based on one of the fundamental principles of interventions on cultural artefacts, that of interdisciplinarity, this study was carried out in collaboration with other disciplines: art history, scientific photography, radiology and chemistry, as well as by the conservators-restorers themselves.
Through these examination techniques and analyses, we have expanded our knowledge of the pieces and their formal and constructive history, and we have added it to the stylistic and research studies in the archives provided to us by historians.
In addition to the CRBMC, the study has also involved the collaboration of the Estudi del Moble (The Association for the Study of Furniture) and the Design Museum of Barcelona, which stores these cultural artefacts.
The study involved different examination and analysis techniques: the works were exposed to various lighting systems (diffused light and low light), as well as photographic techniques based on different radiations (UV fluorescence, digital infrared and IR reflectography) and radiography, and were complemented with the taking of certain samples for analysis under optical microscopy, infrared spectrophotometry, and gas chromatography, as needed.
This multidisciplinary work has enabled us to resolve issues regarding the identification of the successive interventions on a pictorial surface; the analysis of technical aspects such
Example of the different examination techniques used to carry out the study of the pieces: UV
Years of restoration
2013-2014 and 2017
Example of some of the different examination techniques used to carry out the study of the pieces: diffused light
Example of the different examination techniques used to carry out the study of the pieces: IR
as the brushstroke, the preparatory drawing or the changes of composition; the study of wooden supports to discover the original or modified structure, to determine the nature of the constituent materials and classify the products added in previous interventions; and also the state of conservation of all these layers that make up the works.
The results also contributed to a better planning of the conservation-restoration work, more suited to the large number of objects involved, consisting of wide range of materials and techniques, with treatment characteristics that had to be adapted to each of them: wood —with or without polychrome—, metal, paper and ivory, among others.
The necessary curative conservation and restoration actions were carried out by a team of interdisciplinary experts based on the constituent elements, the state of conservation and the causes of alteration that the study had determined.
The CRBMC followed a scientific criterion, implying a certain control and thoroughness in both in the preliminary planning and in the adoption of the methodological criteria applied to the intervention. The approach always ensured the utmost respect for the integrity of the object, and the principle of minimum intervention underpinned all the action taken. In short, the aim was to respect the original work as much as possible: restoring means preserving what is left, without forgetting the other implicit principles of reversibilityretractability, readability, stability and compatibility of materials.
— Pep Paret Close-up of the decoration on the headboard of the Olot bed before restoration
CRBMC workshop where a good number of works from the Design Museum were restored.
Headboard of the Olot bed after restoration
Carriage bed after the intervention
