9th International Symposium on Wood and Furniture
Conservation
'Vernacular Furniture'
14 and 15
November 2008 - at the Felix Meritis Centre, Amsterdam
Friday 14
November:
'The
decorative use of native timbers in the production of vernacular
furniture in Scotland, Wales and England in the 18th and 19th
centuries'. Dr Bernard Cotton,
furniture researcher, United Kingdom
A talk
in which special reference will be given to the use of timbers whose
grain pattern and colouration qualities due to oxidation were employed
as decorative features of furniture
'Vernacular furniture patina'. Herman
den Otter, professor of furniture conservation, University of Amsterdam,
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
An
attempt at defining patina and how it is experienced by the observer.
Can one say vernacular furniture is “a class of its own” in this
respect?
'The conservation of Irish vernacular furniture'. Dr.
Claudia Kinmonth MA(RCA), furniture researcher, Ireland
This talk will dwell on how Irish
country furniture has been used, repaired and mistreated over the years.
Only quite recently this furniture came into its own as worth of
conserving. Now to what extent should the conservator respect such a
history of heavy use?
'Painted
furniture from Hohenlohe-Franken, an area in the northeastern part of
Baden-Württemberg, Germany'. Karl-Heinz
Wüstner, furniture researcher, Rößler-Museum Untermünkheim, Germany
How rewarding it can be to identify
the original makers is illustrated by this introduction to the furniture
from a remote and secluded area in Germany, and the work of Johann
Michael Rößler (1791-1849) from Untermünkheim in particular.
'The dynamics of tradition: painted furniture from Staphorst 1800-2000'.
Jacco Hooikammer, Registrar, and Hans Piena,
Curator, Dutch Open Air Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, the Netherlands
Focussing on the rural village of
Staphorst the authors have unravelled continuity and change in the
furniture of a community generally regarded as ultra-conservative. Or so
it might seem…
'Two examples of Austrian
vernacular pieces of furniture and the interesting discoveries that were
made during their restoration'. Mag. Peter Kopp,
Professor Akademie der bildenden Künste, Dott. Sara Picchi, furniture
conservator, Vienna, Austria
Austria’s rich heritage of
vernacular furniture is well documented and widely published. Still,
technical study and analysis of two wardrobes from known workshops in
Lower and Upper Austria have recently shed new light on their makers and
creation.
'Transylvanian
German painted furniture from the 16th/17th century: The Henndorf
chests. Examination, registration and preservation'. Prof.
Dr. Gerdi Maierbacher-Legl, Head of Department for Furniture
Conservation, HAWK-FH Hildesheim, Germany
Very appropriately this unique
collection of some 120 chests from a multi-ethnic Transylvanian society
is being conserved today by students from Germany, Hungary and Romania.
A report of an ongoing project.
'Historical
and technological research and conservation possibilities of 18th
century Transylvanian chests covered with leather and decorated with
metal ornaments'. Dr Petronella Kovács
Mravik, Head of the Department of Conservation Training and Research,
Hungarian National Museum Budapest, Hungary
Distinctly different from other
European traditions, these Hungarian travelling chests have been the
focus of a research and conservation project. The combination of the
materials metal and leather provides the conservator with very specific
problems.
'Revealing color: American colonial painted furniture'. Christopher
M. Swan, furniture conservator, Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, USA
A much less known category than
furniture from urban centres, furniture from the colonial outposts will
be presented with special focus on their decorative finishes.
Saturday
15 November
'Vernacular
craft to machine assisted industry. The division of labour and the
development of machine use in vernacular chair making in High Wycombe'.
Clive Edwards, furniture researcher, United
Kingdom
From “bodgers” working in the
woods to a factory based operation. This talk will explore the changes
in vernacular chair-making, in particular of producing the well-known
Windsor chair type.
'Vernacular furniture conservator: Traditional furniture in
Ecuador'. Julio Benítez Telles,
furniture conservator, Quito, Ecuador / Valencia, Spain
Traditional furniture-making
techniques that are kept alive by craftsmen and women can be essential
for the conservation of Ecuadorian furniture. This talk will introduce
the “Sociedad de Carpinteros y Anexos Unión y Trabajo” as a unique
source of information on traditional furniture making and a keeper of
cultural heritage.
'The
Still Room at Temple Newsam House, Yorkshire, England: The
reconstruction of a vernacular interior'. Ian
Fraser, Conservator (furniture; historic interiors; preventive) Leeds
Museums and Galleries, Temple Newsam House, Leeds, United Kingdom
Since 1988 the building and
interiors of Temple Newsam have been the focus for restoration and
reconstruction. Not only the “polite” interiors received attention,
but also a domestic interior, such as the Still Room for storage,
preserves and food preparation, was meticulously restored
'Conservation of wooden church
furnishings in the National Museum Copenhagen'. Birgitte
Larsen, furniture conservator, National Museum, Brede, Denmark
The truly national responsibilities
of the National Museum’s workshops are presented by this report on the
conservation of local church interiors from all over Denmark.
'The use of straw and willow in
Irish country furniture'. Joe Hogan, basket-maker, Ireland
The various techniques such as
coiled straw, plaiting and twisted straw or grass traditionally used in
rural Irish furniture will be discussed and their conservation options
dealt with.
'Technical
analysis of Scottish vernacular furniture from National Museums Scotland
Collection'. Sarah
Gerrish ACR, Furniture& Wooden Artefacts Conservator, National
Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
This detailed examination of rare
pieces of Scottish vernacular furniture, many previously unseen and held
in storage, will enable them to be shared with a wider audience.
'Iron nails - The good, the bad and the ugly'. Dag
Feldborg, furniture conservator, Norway
A Norwegian perspective on how to
deal with nails: original, repair or otherwise. An all too common
problem for furniture conservators.
'Vernacular furnishings early 19th century western Canadian settlement
era'. Rick Lair, furniture conservator,
Canada
Drawing
from an ongoing research project the speaker will introduce the
furniture that resulted from a unique melding of Aboriginal and European
settlers cultures.
'Defining vernacular in Colonial
Jamaica'. John Cross, professor/furniture researcher,
London, United Kingdom
Research has discovered numerous
locally made items of furniture on the island. Much of these are
attempts to produce fashionable imitations of metropolitan examples,
while others have little reference to western taste. It is this latter
category that will be the focus of this talk.
Stichting Ebenist is supported by
Amsterdams Historisch Museum, Instituut Collectie Nederland and
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
Stichting
Ebenist, PO Box 15902, 1001 NK Amsterdam, The Netherlands or info@ebenist.org
Visit
www.ebenist.org for more
information on Stichting Ebenist, previous programs, publications etc.
