46-AL-2006_Nichelino, Stupinigi Hunting Lodge, P. Piffetti (attr.), Double-body chest of drawers, inv. 2347

Facilitated description:

 

The double body is a wooden cabinet formed by a chest of drawers with writing desk and at the top a wardrobe with door.
The opening door in the center is decorated with the scene of Noah's Bible coming out of the ark (ship).
Pietro Piffetti made the double body in 1731-1735 with different types of wood, gilded bronze and ivory (material that is obtained from the tusks of elephants).
The furniture is kept at the Hunting Palace of Stupinigi.
The Centro Conservazione e Restauro La Venaria Reale restored the double body in 2006-2007 after the discovery of the piece of furniture. The double body was stolen in 2004.
The restorers have placed the furniture in an anoxic chamber (room without oxygen that serves to eliminate insects that feed on wood).
They carried out a cleaning (cleaned the surface from the dirt deposited over time).
The cabinet had gaps (missing parts) in the wooden decoration. One of the support legs was also missing.
The restorers integrated (filled) the gaps with the same type of wood. 
They consolidated (made more stable) the parts of the wooden decoration that were detaching. 
Eventually they painted the cabinet to protect it from the sun's rays and dust.

 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention:

 

The restoration of Pietro Piffetti's double-body chest of drawers was completed in 2008 under the supervision of Pinin Brambilla Barcilon. The intervention was carried out on the occasion of the discovery of the nucleus of works stolen from the Hunting Palace of Stupinigi in 2004. After the restoration, the work was relocated to the Palazzina.

 

Restoration

The operation began with an anoxic chamber disinfestation over a period of three weeks. Subsequently, the furniture was cleaned of atmospheric deposits and with products to counteract fungal attacks. It was therefore itself an anti-theft product. The restorers integrated the missing leg and side molding. Then the bonding of the detached parts and the fastenings of the raised tiles were carried out. Subsequently, gaps were integrated with woods similar to the originals and inlays with ivory. Finally, it was itself a film of protective varnish and microcrystalline wax.

 

Bibliography

S. De Blasi, Sheet 3, in "The restoration of wooden furnishings. The Piedmontese cabinet-making: studies and research", edited by C. E. Spantigati, S. De Blasi, Firenze, Nardini, 2011, pp. 79-85.