124mc06-AL-2017_Turin, Civic Museum of Ancient Art - Palazzo Madama, G. Capello, Armchair, inv. 1757/L

Facilitated description:

 

The armchair in gilded wood and pink fabric is preserved at the Civic Museum of Ancient Art (Palazzo Madama) in Turin.
Gabriele Capello created the armchair in 1838.
The La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre restored the armchair in 2017 for an exhibition.
The restorers placed the chair in an anoxic chamber, a chamber without oxygen that serves to eliminate insects that feed on wood.
They cleaned all the golden wood surface and fabric from dust.
They glued the raised gilding parts.
They filled the missing gilding parts with stucco (plaster and glue layer) colored with watercolors.

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention:

The restoration of the armchair, made by Gabriele Capello, was carried out on the occasion of the exhibition Genius and mastery. Furniture and cabinetmakers at the Savoy court between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries held at the Reggia di Venaria (17 March - 15 July 2018). The armchair was originally located at the castle of Pollenzo.

Restoration

The chair was subjected to disinfestation in anoxic chamber for a period of three weeks. The entire golden surface has been chemically cleaned to eliminate deposits. The overflowing grouting of a previous restoration has been leveled. In agreement with the management of the works, it was decided not to fill in the gap. The fabric parts were cleaned with vacuum cleaners and brushes. The lifts of the golden parts were consolidated with glue injections. The gilding gaps were filled with stucco, added with bismuth to make the intervention recognizable. Finally, they were integrated with watercolor colors by means of the dotted technique.

 

Bibliography 

C. Arnaldi of Balme, Sheet 80, 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. 301-302.