124mc10-AL-2017_Turin, Royal Palace, G. Capello, Parafuoco, inv. DC 4096

Facilitated description: 

 

The firebreak or chimney guard is a wooden object that is placed in front of the fireplace to cover itself from the strong heat of the fire.
Gabriele Capello made the paracamino in 1843. The chimney guard is made of wood and is covered with a fabric called velvet.
The paracamino is kept at the Royal Palace of Turin.
The La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre restored the chimney guard in 2017.
The restorers have placed the firebreak in an anoxic chamber, an oxygen-free chamber that serves to eliminate wood-eating insects.
They cleaned the firebreak from the dust.
They glued the top part that had broken.
In the end they painted the fire screen to protect it from the sun's rays and dust.

 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention: 

 

Restoration carried out on the occasion of the exhibition on display Genius and mestria. Furniture and cabinetmakers at the Savoy court between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Reggia di Venaria, Sala delle Arti 17 March - 15 July 2018). 

Restoration

The surgery began with treatment in an anoxic chamber for a period of three weeks to eliminate any symptomatic attacks. Subsequently, a chemical cleaning of the surface and an antioxidant treatment of the metal decorations were carried out. The surface deposits on the fabric panels were removed by micro-suction and with the help of soft bristle brushes. At the fracture on the crown, the wood fibers were reordered, consolidated with adhesive and pressure through the frame. Finally, on the work, except in the fabric parts, a protective varnish was applied.

Bibliography

C. Accornero, Sheet 81, in Genius and mestria. Furniture and cabinetmakers at the Savoy court between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (catalogue), edited by S. De Blasi, Turin, Allemandi, 2018, pp. 302-303.