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Painted (Polychrome) + Lacquer Objects

The objects shown on this page are painted wooden or lacquered objects. Objects treated are from both private and institutional clients, and the treatment reports offered show a range of types of treatment reports.

Treatment of badly deteriorated lacquer and/or painted objects requires consultation with the owner or curator to determine the best course of treatment. As conservators, our goal is to preserve the original finish while rendering the item structurally sound and acceptable in appearance.

 

Chinese General Door Guards Ca. 19th Century

Our client had two Chinese general door guards, one of which had taken a tumble and broken his hand. A family member had tried to repair the hand without the benefit of culls, and it had left it improperly offset. Both statues were quite dirty, though the one with the broken hand and club had some sort of grease embedded into the dirt. MPFC cleaned both statues. We opened up the previous repair, reset the existing fingers, and bridged the structural gaps. After the new piece was carved, the new piece was painted. To see a slide show of this treatment, go to our YouTube page.

NPS McLoughlin House
Chinese Lacquer Sewing Cabinet Ca. 1830

The Chinese Lacquer Sewing Cabinet was a gift to Marguerite McLoughlin from a grateful member of the Fort Vancouver community, and one of the few items in the collection which belonged to the family. Go to our page on
McLoughin's Chinese Lacquer Sewing Cabinet.

 

Italian Polychrome Corner Cabinet Ca. 1750

Our client brought us a newly purchased Italian polychrome corner cupboard ca. 1750 made of two parts:
A three legged table base and upper level shelving unit. The cabinet was badly damaged, shown left, and several poor repairs were executed prior to her ownership. Further, the upholstered interior was not original and was in poor condition. MPFC repaired the loose legs, unstable table base, unstable roof, and many small broken parts. We restored the interior by painting it in period appropriate oil paint (created by MPFC from Gamblin Oil Paints) to match, and thereby giving it a functional interior, shown right. The original finish was also cleaned and waxed.
RESUME FOR ITALIAN POLYCHROME CORNER CUPBOARD Ca. 1750

 

Mason Monterey A-Frame Armchair Restoration Ca. 1930

Our client has several pieces of Monterey furniture from his grandparent's ranch. The frame was loose, and needed to be secured to be stable. The armchair was used around marine paint, and the grey paint, suitable for metal, had eaten the original oil-based paint off in long drips. As we conserved the finish, the oil paint continued to assert itself through the infill. Our client agreed that we should find a halfway point between removing the marine paint and full restoration. We removed a good portion of the grey paint, secured the original Monterey paint, and performed infill in the areas where the decorative motif was missing. MASON MONTEREY A-FRAME ARMCHAIR RESTORATION RESUME


Additionally, two dozen pieces of painted/polychrome Mason Monterey furniture can be found on a page featuring the collection at the Oregon Caves NM.

 

Webb Ranch Mason Monterey Desk Restoration Ca. 1934

Our client has many items from the Winatchee Washington Ranch of Jessie Webb, and there is a good story that goes with the transfer of furniture from Jessie Webb's ranch to our client's home in Portland. Her father stripped and painted the desk, which they considered " funny looking" furniture. Years later she saw the PBS special on the Oregon Caves, and realized she had many pieces of this special line of furniture. The desk was broken, largely due to a flaw in the Mason design. Our client had us repair the drop down lid, the cubby insert and the drawers, then restored it to its original color with the original floral motif, which was able to be seen under the old paint. OREGON MASON MONTEREY DESK RESTORATION RESUME

 

Six “Lenox Shops Furniture” Dining Chairs: Four Painted Splats

The dining chairs were a family heirloom handed down from her grandmother, with second generation fabric on the seat and backs. Two of the painted splats had serious scratches, the other two had small scratches. One armchair had a serious break in the frame. MPFC repaired the breaks (we found another), restored the painted splats over a barrier of MSA varnish, cleaned the buildup materials and restored the seat and inside backs on the upholstered arm chairs, and reupholstered the chairs. One of our prettiest projects! Upholstered armchairs on this page; painted splat chairs below.


Kate Painting infill over MSA barrier, above. Before, left, and after, right.

 

CCC Primitive Painted Wood Box

Possibly made by the by one of the Crater Lake's National Park's Superintendents , this wood box has been part of the collection in the first Superintendent's House
at Crater Lake National Park as far back as anyone can remember. Layers and layers of shellac and paint over many years had created a wonderful patina:
We repaired cracks, then cleaned and protected the finish.

 

Painted Windsor Chair Ca. 1730

The Painted Windsor Chair had been in our client's family from its creation. It was structurally sound, but had several areas that had chipped and the painted finish was in need of cleaning; infill was requested in some of the larger breaks.
WINDSOR CHAIR TREATMENT REPORT

 

• Oregon Caves National Monumeent, located in Southern Oregon above Cave Junction, is a NPS site where the largest public collection of Mason Monterey is exhibited.