Department Chair

Patrick Ravines

Date of Award

8-2017

Access Control

Open Access

Degree Name

Art Conservation, M.A., C.A.S.

Department

Art Conservation Department

Advisor

Jonathan Thornton

Department Home page

https://artconservation.buffalostate.edu

First Reader

Dr. Aaron Shugar

Second Reader

Dr. Rebecca Ploeger

Third Reader

Jiuan Jiuan Chen

Abstract

A Gebrüder Thonet bentwood rocking chair owned by a private client was treated and analyzed. A custom mold was built in order to reconstruct the chair’s missing backsplat, which was created out of bendable plywood and beech veneer. Araldite AV 1252 epoxy putty was used to fill major losses and unoriginal tack holes. In addition to inpainting fills and replacement componenets, large areas of stripped and sanded finish were compensated with dewaxed shellac and acrylic emulsion paints. The wood was determined to be beech (Fagus) via wood identification using polarized light microscopy (PLM). Cross sections of the finish were examined using PLM and long wave ultraviolet visible fluorescence. Additional finish analysis was performed, including transmitted Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrscopy (FTIR) and X-ray Flourescence (XRF). The results indicate that original finish layers may be present, and are possibly composed of layers of dyed and bulked shellac and a topcoat consisting of shellac and a natural resin.

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