D05mc01-02-AL-2016_Santena, Castello Cavour, 6-door windshield and 4-door windshield in coromandel lacquer

Facilitated description: 

The two screens are wooden works decorated with lacquer (particular type of paint). 
One screen consists of 4 wooden panels and the other of 6 wooden panels. 
Originally the two screens formed a single work of 10 panels. 
The screens were made during the 1700s in China. 
The screens are kept at the Castle of Santena, in the Sala della Caccia. 
The La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre restored the screens for the first time in 2015-2016. 
A restoration student restored the 4-door screen for her thesis (final exam).
Scientists at the Venaria Center did scientific analyses to study how the screen was made and to study the type of wood used.
The restorer stopped the parts of color that were peeling off with Japanese paper (very thin paper type). 
In this way the screen was transported to the laboratories of Venaria without losing parts of color. 
After the restorer spread on the screen a product against insects that eat wood.
The restorer reinforced the detached color parts with adhesive. 
He mounted a shimbari frame (structure made of bamboo sticks) to put pressure on the areas to be reattached. 
In the end, the restorer cleaned the screen with chemicals and a laser beam tool. 

 

 

 

 

Abstract of the intervention:

 

The two screens of the Salone delle Cacce of the Castello di Santena are part of a thesis project curated by Valentina Gucciardi. The artifacts (a screen with 6 doors and a screen with 4 doors) were studied together because originally part of a single 10-door artifact. In particular, the restoration work that was the subject of the thesis involved a door of the 4-door screen. The 6-door screen, on the other hand, was used as a term of comparison to deepen the executive technique. The restoration of this work was then carried out by the restorers of the Center in subsequent years.
The restoration was preceded by a diagnostic campaign (UV, IR-FC, RX, MO, FT-IR, SEM-EDX, XRF, Py GC-MS) and analyses for the identification of the woody species.
The project allowed to place the artifact chronologically, to clarify the technique of execution and to clarify the origin of the degradation phenomena. 

Restoration

The intervention was focused on the resolution of the main conservation issues: adhesion defects, selective removal of supermmesse substances dating back to previous restoration and maintenance interventions. 
Before transport to the laboratories, the work was secured by the velinature of the decoese pictorial film parts.
The screen was then dismantled and subjected to disinfestation with permethrin to eliminate the entomatic attack. The consolidations of pictorial film and lacquer with adhesive and controlled pressure exerted by shimbari frame followed. Subsequently, deposits, yellowed paint and unsuitable retouching were removed, combining chemical cleaning with the use of laser technology.

 

Bibliography

V. Gucciardi, The study and restoration of the Chinese screen with coromandel lacquer decoration of the castle of Santena, Master thesis in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, University of Turin, Prof. F. Moretti, M. B. Failla, academic year 2015-2015.