Оn the restoration of artistic furniture decorated with marquetry in the middle of the 19th century

Abstract

The article is devoted to the aspects of the history of artistic furniture restoration in the middle of the 19th century. The article focuses on card tables of late 18th century. They were collected from the imperial palaces storage by the order of Nicholas I of Russia for placing them during the balls in the Winter Palace. The article relates to the phenomenon of new understanding to the memorabilia in this period. The article presents the basic design schemes, decoration techniques, description of used materials. The works on the “renewal” of 36 card table was not only to repair them, but bringing them into the same form. Factories of A. Tur and Miller and master carpenter Peter Ilyin participated in tender on the tables repair. Peter Ilyin got the contract. Repair works were carried out on structural parts, inlaid wood compositions, wood polishing. All 36 tables received the same height and were covered with the same green cloth. Decorative bronze plates were removed. Facts of repair and rework the tables have a value for their attribution and determining the authenticity of construction parts. This paper considers the phenomenon of “renewal” and the related order restoration work. Article is based on the analysis of previously unpublished archival documents.

Keywords:

card-table, repair, restoration, marquetry, polishing