124mc12-AL-2017_Turin, Royal Palace, L. Prinotto, Desk with scenes of the siege and battle of Turin, inv. DC1720

Facilitated description: 

 

The folding desk is a piece of furniture in which the writing surface can be opened and closed.
Luigi Prinotto created the desk in 1723 with different woods, ivory, turtle shell and mother-of-pearl.
On the desk are depicted scenes of the battle of Turin in 1706.
The desk is kept at the Royal Palace of Turin.
The La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre restored the desk in 2017.
The restorers placed the desk in an anoxic chamber, an oxygen-free chamber that serves to eliminate wood-eating insects.
They cleaned the desk of dust.
They glued the detached wooden parts with glue injections. They cleaned the metal parts.
They covered the missing wooden parts with wooden tiles. They colored the wooden tiles on the back to make recognizable the parts added with the restoration.
They covered the small holes with putty (plaster and glue layer).
In the end they painted the desk 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, cleaning was carried out from atmospheric particulate deposits with vacuum cleaners and wishab rubbers of various densities on undecorated surfaces and by chemical means on the rest of the product. The lifts of the inlays were made to re-adhere with glue injections and with pressure action of springs and tackle tips. All metal elements, with the exception of the flap hinges, have been dismantled and cleaned, while oxidation has been mechanically removed on the hinges. The missing wooden tiles were supplemented with the same wood essences and then burnished with agate stone, while the smaller gaps were filled with stucco composed of wax and pigments. Finally, on the back of all the integrated tiles, substances have been applied that make them radiopaque and easily identifiable by means of X-ray analysis. Finally, a protective varnish has been applied to the work. 

 

Bibliography

F. Gualano, Sheet 11, in Genius and mastery. Furniture and cabinetmakers at the Savoy court between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (catalogue), edited by S. De Blasi, Turin, Allemandi, 2018, pp. 213-214.