LOUIS XVI MAHOGANY SNACK CABINET

A BRIEF HISTORY

Louis XVI furniture stands in opposition to the Louis XV style. It returns to the rigor of geometric forms inspired, among other sources, by the discovery of ancient ruins at Herculaneum and Pompeii (two cities near Naples buried by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius). The structure of furniture is emphasized with rigorous shapes such as the rectangle, square, circle, and oval, borrowed from neoclassical architecture. Furniture legs revive elements of the antique style, notably the fluted leg or the square columnette. Ornamental elements are also minimalist.

A NOTE ON CONSERVATION/RESTORATION

We have before us a mahogany piece resting on four turned legs ending in brass caps and iron casters. Opening via a slatted ring handle and topped with a Sainte-Anne grey marble slab, it is surmounted by a gallery.

It was impossible to save the varnish given its pitiful condition, so I proceeded with stripping—a step I always take with regret.

The sides were structurally compromised, and I restored their shape and solidity. I finished with pad-applied varnishing.

The soiled and stained marble was treated using a gel based on Laponite and the disodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), then neutralized and waxed. The brass caps and gallery were cleaned with a mixture of triethanolamine and citric acid, neutralized, then lightly polished and protected with a polyvinyl butyral-based varnish. The iron casters were deoxidized using an orthophosphoric acid solution, then lightly polished and protected with a thin layer of alkyd resins.