30mc1-7-TA-2014_Venaria Reale, Reggia di Venaria, 7 panels with chinoiserie, inv. PR027324/01-07 (Palazzo del Quirinale property)

Facilitated description:

 

The 7 panels with Chinese decorations are painted wood panels that serve to cover the walls of a room.
The panels were made between 1800 and 1900.
The panels are decorated with flowers and leaves on a black background.
The panels are owned by the Quirinale Palace in Rome but are now on loan to the Reggia di Venaria.
The La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre restored the panels in 2014.
Scientists at the Venaria Center did some scientific analysis to understand how the panels were mounted and what colors were used.
The restorers restored the panels together with the students of the restoration school.
The restorers glued the raised parts of color.
Afterwards they eliminated the wood parts ruined due to the mushrooms ruining the wood.
The restorers fixed the fracture of a panel.
Behind the panels they inserted pieces of wood to correct the deformations and to reinforce the panels.
They filled the color gaps with a layer of putty (plaster and glue) and colors.
Eventually they laid out a substance to protect the panels from the sun's rays and dust.

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention:

 

The restoration of the lacquer panels with chinoiserie of the Quirinal Palace was carried out on the occasion of the exhibition of the works in the permanent visit of the Reggia di Venaria. During the project, the students of the I and III years of the PFP/2 sector of the Degree Course in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage were involved in two summer construction sites, organized to investigate more deeply the cognitive aspects of the work. The restoration was accompanied by an in-depth diagnostic campaign that revealed details on the executive technique and woody species (Eastern for pannell 5 and 7 and Western for all the others). Thanks to radiographic analysis it was possible to understand the assembly techniques. In addition, infrared spectroscopy analyses were useful in defining the composition of the lacquers (urushi for the oriental panels and natural resin in the others), the paint binder (oil) and the pigment in green tones based on Prussian blue.

Restoration

The restoration began with the reclining of panels 5 and 7 and with the consolidation of the pictorial film with adhesive conveyed with water. The intervention on the wooden support provided for the recovery of the bonding of the detached parts of the original panels from those made of poplar. Subsequently, the supporting parts affected by fungal attacks that are no longer recoverable were removed, then reintegrated by assembling several elements of the same woody species. The fracture of the back of panel 7 was repaired by removing the damaged part and replacing it with poplar strips, preserving the original joint and ankles.
With regard to curved panels, the conservation work was very complex due to the numerous cracks, as well as the phenomena of deworming, loading and lack of interlocking systems (the constraint system consisted of glue and nails). The nails were then removed and the boards were cleaned of glue residues. Subsequently, the boards were re-glued and the cracks repaired.
In agreement with the Works Management, it was decided to create a parking with springs on the back of the curved panels to ensure greater structural stability and allow movements due to temperature and humidity changes.
Finally, microcrystalline wax was applied on the back of these panels to reduce thermohygrometric variations and facilitate sliding between frames and boards, the gaps in pictorial film were grouted below the level, then chromatically reintegrated under tone, and a final protective varnish was applied with a UV filter.

 

Bibliography

- P. Buscaglia, M. Cardinali, P. Luciani, A. Piccirillo, P. Manchinu, The panels of Quirinale Palace. A study of provenience and manufacture for a correct conservation intervention, in The Conservation of East Asian Cabinets in Imperial Residences (1700-1900). Conference 2015 Postprints (2017), edited by G. Krist, E. Iby, V&r Academic, 2018;
- P. Buscaglia, M. Cardinali, Michela; P. Luciani, P. Mallus, A. Minì, F. Spagnoli, V. Tasso, Valentina, F. Zenucchini, A. Piccirillo, T. Poli, P. Manchinu, The panels of Quirinale Palace: a study of provenience and manufacture for a correct conservation intervention in The Conservation of East Asian Cabinets in Imperia/Residences (1700-1900), in Proceedings of the ICOM international conference in Vienna 2016; 
- M. Cardinali, P. Luciani, A. Minì, Preservative interventions on complete wooden supports: some application cases dealt with during the restoration of Bernardino Luini's frescoes torn from Villa La Pelucca and four panels with chinoiserie from the Quirinale Palace, in The State of the Art, XIV IGIIC National Congress (Accademia Di Belle Arti di L’Aquila, 20/22 October 2016), Nardini, 2016;
- P. Buscaglia, The panels of Quirinale Palace: a study of provenience and manufacture for a correct conservation intervention (paper), at the 2nd ICCROM International Conference ‘The Conservation of East Asian Cabinets in Imperial Residences (1700-1900)’, Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace, December 4th-5th, 2015.