47-CR-2011_Venaria Reale, Reggia di Venaria, Bucintoro, inv. 0872/L (owned by Museo Civico d'Arte Antica di Torino- Palazzo Madama)

Facilitated description:

 

The Bucintoro or Peota is a large boat used for parades and important celebrations.
In the past this type of boat was used by the governors of Venice.
The Savoy family built a bucintoro in 1731.
The bucintoro is kept at the Reggia di Venaria.
The La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre restored the bucintoro in 2012.
In 2011 the restorers designed the transport of the Bucintoro.
Scientists at the Venaria Center did scientific analysis to understand the construction technique and the materials used.
The restorers cleaned all parts of the Bucintoro, reinforced the damaged parts and filled the color gaps.

 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention:

 

The work, owned by the Civic Museum of Ancient Art - Palazzo Madama (Turin Museums Foundation), is set up in the tour of the Reggia di Venaria. 

The project around Bucintoro dei Savoia was born in 2006 when a preliminary feasibility study for transport to Venaria was launched alongside an artistic historical survey, conducted by the ‘La Venaria Reale’ Conservation and Restoration Centre (CCR), with a view to conservation work and exhibition in the Royal Palace. Four specialised restorers were involved in the project, as part of the first ‘Training for Trainers’ course (4For), organised by the JRC’s School of Advanced Training and Study and supported by Compagnia di San Paolo. After a preliminary phase of design and research, in 2011 the Peota was transferred from the Nicola Restauri Laboratory in Aramengo to the JRC, thanks to the contribution of the Consulta per la Valorizzazione dei beni Artistici e Culturali di Torino. 
The restoration was preceded by an in-depth diagnostic campaign aimed at identifying the executive technique and the materials used. In particular, the digital radiography allowed to know the structure of the boat, the analysis of the wood species of the CNR-IVALSA Institute allowed an in-depth analysis of the materials used, while the infrared analysis (FT-IR) and those under the microscope (SEM) contributed to the identification of the Prussian Blue pigment.
The main objectives of the restoration were the cleaning (carried out with the help of laser on the portions with gilding), the consolidation of surfaces and chromatic integration. 
The intervention on Bucintoro This was the occasion for two thesis projects of the Master’s Degree Programme in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage.

In 2012 (order 34_DG_2012) two videos of Peota were made in view of the exhibition held in the Scuderia della Reggia. The videos were created to support a complete understanding and fruition of the work and return the results of the diagnostic campaign carried out by the JRC.

 

Bibliography 

- The Bucintoto of the Savoy. Contributions for conservation and restoration (acts of the international study conference), edited by S. De Blasi, Turin, Editris, 2012;
- F. Nepote, Study on the cleaning of wooden works with Nd laser technology: YAG. Application cases: a bed of the former Certosa-Castello di Valcasotto, the boiseries of Palazzo Litta in Milan, the Bucintoro dei Savoia, in Extracts from the Master's theses of the Five-Year Single Cycle Course in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, edited by M. Cardinali, A. Romero, Editris, Turin, pp. 61-67;
- F. Lo Sardo, The Royal Peota: decorative materials and techniques of luxury boats in Venice in the eighteenth century in view of restoration and preventive conservation, Master's thesis in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, Prof. Gianna Ferraris di Celle, academic year 2011-2012; 
- J. Friend, The structure of the Royal Peota: construction techniques and maintenance interventions. from the analysis of the work to the study of the state of conservation for the reconstruction of its historical and conservative events, Master's thesis in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, Prof. Gianna Ferraris di Celle, academic year 2011-2012;
- The sublime boat. Royal stage on the water (catalogue of the exhibition), E. Ballaira, S. Ghisotti, A. Griseri (edited by), Silvana Editoriale, Milan, 2012; 
- P. Croveri, A. Piccirilo. T. Poli. A. Giovagnoli, Royal Peota (Savoy Royal barge): characterization of orginal and restoration materials, in ART’14 11th international conference on non-destructive investigation and microanalysis for the diagnostics and conservation of cultural and environmental heritage, Madrid (Italy) June 2014.