# 1977.1382
London; Attributed to Pierre Langlois
Circa 1760
32 1/4H X 51 1/2W X 25 1/2D inches
Dukes of Norfolk
Various woods in veneer form for decoration (kingwood, dyed pear?, boxwood etc)
Oak is substrate and cedar as secondary (drawers).
The mounts were removed , tagged and placed in storage.
The large bubble in the veneer on top was plastizied with warm water and secured with hide glue (251 gram strength). Numerous areas of loose marquetry on the top and sides were secured with hide glue. The kingwood veneer on the face (drawer dividers) was also injected and secured with hide glue.
The existing, non-original nitro-cellulose based coating was removed using a mixture of methyl ethyl ketone and denatured alcohol.
Once the veneers were secured and the surface coating was removed, a barrier coat of 10% B-72 in xylene was applied by brush. This created an isolating barrier for the new wax coating separating it from being confused with any possible traces of original coating that may be left in the pores of the wood. Several old repairs were uncovered in the process and were subsequently colored over the B-72 isolating coat.
A beeswax, candelilla and carnauba wax mixture (in Stoddard Solvent) was applied. The numerous splits and losses were filled with this same wax but tinted with dry pigments.
The wax finish was burnished to a high shine.
The mounts were cleaned with precipitated chalk and ethanol using a cotton ball. The cleaned surface was sealed using Agateen #27 lacquer tinted with Orasol Yellow 2RLN dye to impart a golden tone and then reinstalled.
