17mc01/02-AL-2013_Nichelino, Stupinigi Hunting Lodge, Wall tables, inv. 1086, 1087

Facilitated description: 

The 2 tables are made of gilded wood and have a marble (stone) shelf. 
The 2 tables were made during the 1800s. 
The tables are kept at the Hunting Palace of Stupinigi, in the ancient appurtenance of Sant'Uberto. 
The La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre restored the tables in 2013. 
The restorers cleaned the tables. 
They stopped the parts that were coming off. 
They filled the wooden gaps with stucco (plaster and glue layer). 
They painted the stucco with watercolors and gold dust. 
In the end they put a product against insects that eat wood and a varnish to protect the tables from the sun's rays and dust. 

 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention: 

The intervention is part of the research and teaching project "The professions of restoration. Studies and research for the conservation of wooden furniture and paintings on board", funded through ROL by the Compagni di San Paolo, 2013-2014. The aim of the project was to support the Fondazione Ordine Mauriziano in the conservation of the wooden furnishings belonging to the royal apartments and hospitalized in storage in conjunction with the restoration of the rooms (Anticappella, Cappella Sant'Uberto, Sala scudieri, Salone centrale, Appartamento del re).

Restoration

The restoration of the pair of wall tables of Piedmont area of the Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi (anti-bucket of Sant'Uberto) began with the cleaning of the surfaces. Following this operation, it emerged that work 1087 was covered with a thick layer of oxidised varnish, probably spread during a previous restoration to conceal the showy abrasions of the gold leaf.
This was followed by the consolidation of the micro lifts with resin injections and the plastering of the gaps, then chromatically intoned with watercolor colors and micacea powder.
The missing parts of the sculpture were not reconstructed as they did not constitute an obvious interruption to the legibility of the work. On work 1086, some wooden elements were connected by means of resin, ensuring the visibility of the intervention by means of chromatic selection integration with watercolour.
Finally, preventive disinfestation was carried out with a brush application of anti-moth solution and a final painting layer was applied.