Above, the American Dowry Chest before treatment,
Image #1, and after, Images #2-3.
Below left, the interior with the dowry chest guardian inside.
HISTORY
We begin this post with Mitchell’s historical musings.
“Our client’s American white oak dowry chest is over 350 years old and has lived in our clients family for over a century. The families provenance details the chest’s history, and in run that tells us the story of its environment and possible issues from the last century.
Restorative practices, repairs, modifications to its carcass (interior and exterior) and layers of materials used for both the original finish and subsequent layers of finish allow us to surmise the greater story of both its use and conditions for the first two centuries.
The dowry chest was built in North America during the late tenure of the English king Charles II. Comparing this chest to others from this period, it was likely crafted by an artisan who lived in one of the American northeastern colonies at the time when most of European heritage were subjects of the British Crown, though many who resided were of Dutch, German, Scottish, Irish and English heritage.
Many artisans were born within the colonies, were second generation citizens, and had little contact with citizens of their “mother” country. This separation fostered opportunity to morph their decorative styles into unique “folk” motifs, which in turn became a “colonial” styles, creating regional attributes.
American history usually focuses on the formation of the colonies into unified states, however, this dowry chest was in use during the lifetimes of the founder’s great grandparents, and serves as a reminder that the decorative arts were robust within the American colonies going back to the beginning of the 17th century. We will offer our thoughts on some of these historic issues based on our forensic evidence.”
QUESTIONS RELATIVE TO AUTHENTICITY BECAUSE OF
DISPARATE RELIEF CARVED DATES AND INITIALS
“We believe the carvings were crafted by a single artisan with a skilled hand and knowledge of motif styling. The interior header (hinge rail) carving depicts a traditional oak-leaf motif, including initials which may have been the intended owner, or may be the carvers information, with the date of 1685, shown below top image.
Above, the INTERIOR carved initials and date of 1685;
below, the EXTERIOR carved initials and date of 1796.
But there is a second set of initials and date on the exterior (1796), which, because this is a dowry chest, we believe to be the initials of the owner and presumably the date of the marriage. See second image above, bottom. The carved date, along with period hand tool markings on the original case surfaces, period joinery style, wood condition and connecting points of the internal chest elements indicate this embellished frieze to be part of the original construction.
The two disparate carved dates cannot be explained therefore it was necessary for us to consider whether the cabinet could have been cobbled together at some point in its history. After careful examination we abandoned all consideration that this piece had been an amalgam of two cabinets of different centuries.
- First, the connecting points for the headers joinery were undisturbed (original), the chest had never been disassembled.
- Examination of the front center decorative frieze carving reflecting the later date “1796” while being the same font style as the interior contained nuances in both geometry and gouge styles from the rest of the relief carving.
- Slight variants in the edges of the fonts suggest another crafts-person carved this, and when compared with the other relief carved elements on the chest’s front (including the sections of the right and left facing header adjacent to the fresh carving, indicated that the date and the initials were from another time that the creation of the chest.
- Finally, when we compared the carving style of the front floral decorative panels (excluding the “1796” date and initials) these carvings all matched the carving style of the crafts-person who relief carved the interior header.
A process of elimination led us to the conclusion that the cabinet was indeed a piece from the 17th century and had likely been claimed by another generation of family (possibly related to the original, or not) which eventually came into the hands of the family who has owned the piece since the 19th century.”
ASSESSMENT:
CABINETRY CONDITION ISSUES
AND PRIOR REPAIRS
The dowry chest consists of four legs/feet (two front carved), holding panels for the front (carved), back and sides, bottom and lid.
Note 1: Assume all carvings are relief carvings unless otherwise noted.
The chest had gone through several repair efforts over the centuries:
BOTTOM:
Only one board of the original bottom appears to have survived and that was undermined by dry rot and long extinct pest infestation, shown above, board far left. Three panels of rough, cross grain planed, satinwood (likely installed during the 17th century then subsequently demolished during the 18th century), were used to replace the original rotted floor boards, shown above.
We surmise these boards were once shims for large paneled walls built during the 17th-18th centuries. Walls were not plumbed true, and so shims were used to render them true.
The floor boards were viable, though the secured supporting stretchers beneath which hold the boards in place were unstable (example shown running along the top of the image right). We believe these stretchers were secured to the interior walls during a restoration in order to make the floor sustainable.
LID SECTION REPLACEMENT:
The majority of the original lid survived into the 21st century. We presume it was modified during the late 19th century due to damage to the hinge mounted rear edge of lid.
The lid was made from a single milled piece of white oak which included anomalies within the surface, shown above, that included a single knot, quarter-sawn grain lines, and several splits.
At the time of lid repair a decision was made to save as much of the historic top as possible. Apparently there was a removal of splintered substrate , and a viable joining edge was created to the historic board.
A strategic rip-cut was made across the width of the top, allowing the damaged splintered section to be laminated to a fresh three inch section of compatibly grained white oak to the rear portion of the top, seen in the image right, which also shows many pest holes. Once these pieces were joined the new section of the top was profiled then hand scraped along the two side edges to establish continuity of the historic, half-round, edge molding.
The fresh back section’s finish was well-matched to the historic finish, glazed with asphaltum in order to mirror the color of the historic finish, then brush coated with several layers of shellac varnish. Unfortunately the repair person failed to fill the deep grained oak with an appropriate grain filler prior to coating the fresh section with a glaze and this caused the texture of the fresh section of the top to read visually, calling attention to the repair.
HINGE REPLACEMENT:
The original 17th century hinges were interlocking eyelets which were secured into the rear chest header and corresponding rear lid’s leading edge.
Evidence of the original hinge, the actual iron eyelet buried within the rear/outside-back structural header (far right image above), lead to a supposition relative to the necessity of the restoration of the lid and the replacement of the original hinges with 19th century strap style hinges which offered support to the lid and spread tension across the lid and outside back.
The hinges have been moved several times since their original placement, likely due to erosion of the mounting screw bores. These numerous abandoned screw bores, shown left during reparation, eventually undermined viable securing surfaces of the lid’s underside requiring extensive structural repair and the addition of wood substrate into the losses and surrounds.
ADDITIONS AND LOSSES:
It was not advisable to fully disassemble this dowry chest without risking additional damage to its structure. A strategy was devised by which we could selectively apply reparations to the compromised areas, particularly the pinned mortise and tenon joinery, which, if not treated, could degrade beyond reparation in another century of daily use. Also, because those particular treatments likely would require additional consolidation within a century or two it was important that the preservation choices we applied were reversible, so future conservators could introduce further repairs as needed.
Above, the dowry chest before treatment.
TREATMENT
Various areas of treatment are shown below. In all cases, damage was repaired first, before the restoration of the original finish. We show the finish restoration at the end.
Note 2: We chose our images to show a particular issue or area best; with or without a flash. In this particular project, the new fabric lining throws a color shift on images to a bright blue on the shellacked finishes in the upholstery photos.
Note 3: Repairs may be taken out of linear process time so that they may make more sense.
EXCAVATION
The current fabric panels were removed, exposing the inside of the chest, shown above and right. The panels inside were fiberboard, and were mildewed; we would discard them and create new panels.
Hinges were removed, below, releasing the lid from the body of the chest. The lid trim on each side was removed.
REPAIR
FEET
With the lid removed it was easy to turn the chest upside down to begin the repairs, above.
We began with the badly degraded feet, shown above and below.
To stabilize and strengthen the feet for their reparation, we injected ©Rhoplex deeply into the disintegrating feet, shown below, and left it to cure overnight.
One of the rear feet had a large hole which was drilled, but for what reason we cannot imagine, shown above in the first image.
We filled this hole with a hardwood dowel, shown right, using hide glue in order to return strength into the leg.
After curing we trimmed it level with the rest of the foot, not shown.
Large and small gaps or holes left in the foot were filled with hardwood picks in several appropriate sizes, shown above in the left-facing front leg, using hide glue as the adhesion. These were left to cure. After curing they were leveled to the stand on the floor.
For the final step in the treatment of the damaged feet, a plexiglass form was created in which to pour ©Araldite1253, shown above.
(©Araldite1253 was a wonderful product, in that it had structural integrity, and we were sad when it disappeared from the market.)
©Araldite1253 was poured into the mold, shown above, and allowed to cure overnight.
It was then shaped/sculpted using a hand chisel, shown above. While the finish work was not completed until the end, we are showing it to you in this sequence, left.
BOTTOM/FLOOR
The original bottom board (board far left), shown above, was undermined by dry rot and extinct pest infestation holes. It needed to be repaired and strengthened; after, the entire floor was secured.
The supporting trim pieces were taped to exclude them from the slurry, above left. A pigmented ©Araldite1253 slurry was created, above center, and liberally applied to the compromised board, shown above right, and left to cure. After curing the slurry was rough sanded smooth.
We believe the stretchers were secured to the interior walls during a restoration in order to make the floor sustainable.
The supporting stretchers (shown above and elsewhere) were compromised in several places, which rendered their support unreliable. Nails were missing. Existing nails were removed.
The original nail bores were drilled to accept new 1.5-inch brass slot-headed screws; screws were inserted, above.
On the inside, the floor was also secured to the stretchers using shorter slot-0headed brass screws, shown above left.
The floor boards were gently moved into position, right, and held in stasis while breaks were glued.
Below, the bottom after reparation and after finish work (discussed bottom under FINISH).
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FRONT PANEL TO RIGHT-FACING LEG CONNECTION
Gaps in the right-facing shoulder of the mortise and tenon joinery securing the relief carved front structure frieze to the leg compromised the structure. This occurred primarily from shrinkage, and contributed to the hand pinned joints shifting. If left untreated it threatened breakage and environmental degradation.
Invasive traditional woodworking repairs (disassembly, amending, gluing) could cause serious damage to the historic members. A less invasive traditional woodworking approach was taken and successfully executed.
The opening was gently pried to begun the repair, left.
Shims were created from same wood species to fill the shrunken gaps between the joinery shoulders and the decorative framing. A mixture of gap filling PVA and hide glue was selectively injected into the shrunken gap, shown above. Mitchell successfully avoided penetrate into the historic mortise and tenon which was not originally glued, but a traditional pinned compression joint, common in this era. Glue surrounded the fresh shim only, and was therefore potentially reversible while holding the shim into position, adding tension to the loose joinery.
The chest was placed into stasis using padded bar clamps during this process, above, and removed after the shimming procedure was completed.
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INTERIOR RELIEF CARVED FRIEZE
Before reparation, rear interior carved frieze, above. Pests and possible previous attempts at repairs left holes. The carvings were worn and compromised.
Hard picks of various sizes filled holes, some of which had to be cleanly drilled, shown above, and the glues were allowed to cure.
©Araldite1253 was fashioned into patches for some of the compromised relief carvings in the frieze, shown in the second and third images above. This was allowed to cure overnight.
The various hard picks and dowels were leveled by hand, shown right.
The carvings were reestablished in two ways:
- The ©Araldite1253, once cured, was carved into the missing shapes
- Existing carvings were reestablished if they were worn.
Below, the interior frieze was completed and ready for finish work.
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EXTERIOR RELIEF CARVED FRIEZE
There were similar holes on the exterior frieze (front of the dowry chest), and these were treated in the same manner.
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HINGED LID
Above, the inside of the lid before treatment;
below, the top of the lid before treatment.
The lid was damaged by hinges moved over the years, pests, knots and cracks. The finish was dry and cracking, damaged and uneven with scuff marks and rings.
On the interior were labels designating past family owners of the dowry chest, and these labels were created by others than our client. She wanted them preserved if possible.
Damage was repaired first, then we were ready to restore the original finish.
Above, identifying holes to be repaired;
below, hinges removed.
The underside of the lid was prepped for repair, above and below. Hinges were removed, above. Hinges were set aside and inspected for viability before reattachment. They were deemed viable.
Hinge bores were drilled clean and new hard dowels filled the bore holes to create a snug fit when the hinges were reattached in the same location.
Holes of various sizes and created for various reasons (or pest holes) were drilled clean to allow for reparation with new hard dowels, shown above.
Hide glue was inserted into bore holes and the dowels inserted. The entire lid was left to cure overnight, shown above.
Right, after curing the dowels were cut then sanded level with the lid surround.
Except for the two end pieces, all of the cross braces needed to be reproduced. Original cross braces were badly compromised by pest infestations leaving bore holes. Mitchell created two long braces and six shorter braces from clear vertical grain white oak. The braces were stained to match the original finish.
The layout was created, and the cross braces were laid out and glued in place with a mixture of gap filling PVA and hide glue in preparation for brass screws.
All the cross bracings were pre-drilled for the screw bores. A piece of plexiglass was used to prevent the drill from marring the finished surface of the cross bracings, and the drill bit was marked to stop Mitchell from going all the way through the lid.
The historic end caps were reattached using the gap filling PVA and hide glue, and prepared for new brass screws to be inserted.
Mitchell did not follow the pattern of old bore holes indicated on the underside of the lid, largely because of the damage done to the lid over the centuries. Instead he avoided knots and new cracks, and even held together new cracks with strategic placement of the screws for the bracings. Chalk was used for the patterning. Above, the layout in process of attachment.
The lid after all the brass screws were inserted into the bore holes. It is now fully supported, braced, and ready for attachment to the body of the chest.
Finish treatment was to be completed before assembly.
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FINISH
The following protocol was used for the finish restoration: skip sanding with fine sandpaper was performed as necessary, not shown.
The hinges were coated with two coats of a 1 lb cut of garnet shellac, shown left.
A fresh quart of 1 lb cut of beige shellac was created and used to seal the entire chest, including the ©Araldite1253 repairs, to allow for an even distribution of the darker shellac application, above. The shellac was allowed to cure overnight.
We were careful to come to the edge of the labels. The next day we attached plexiglass covers over the labels to protect them in future, shown right.
We carefully recreated a matching shellac to the historic color of the dowry chest.
A fresh quart of 2 lb cut of beige shellac was created. 16 drops of #6004 Medium Brown ©TransTint Liquid Dye was added, shown left.
This was applied to the underside of the lid, shown above, and allowed to cure overnight.
The underside of the chest was treated while it was on its back with two coats of the 1 lb cut of beige shellac, shown above.
Also while on its back, the feet were treated.
A coat of the 1 lb cut of beige shellac was applied as a seal coat, and allowed to cure overnight.
The next day the 2 lb cut of beige shellac with the addition of the Medium Brown ©TransTint Liquid Dye was carefully applied as necessary, and allowed to cure overnight. This thoroughly covered the ©Araldite1253.
While on its back, a coat of the 1 lb cut of beige shellac was applied as a seal coat to the interior frieze, and allowed to cure overnight, shown above.
The next day the 2 lb cut of beige shellac with the addition of the Medium Brown ©TransTint Liquid Dye was carefully applied as necessary, and allowed to cure overnight, shown above, in before and after images.
Above and below, the inside frieze
after the finish treatment cured.
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After a weekend of curing, the dowry chest was set on its feet.
A coat of the 1 lb cut of beige shellac was applied as a seal coat under the hinge locations, and to the body of the chest and lid, and allowed to cure overnight.
The next day the hinges were applied, and the dowry chest was now operational, with lid attached to the body of the chest.
The next day the 2 lb cut of beige shellac with the addition of the Medium Brown ©TransTint Liquid Dye was carefully applied as necessary, and allowed to cure overnight.
(Apologies, the images before waxing were lost.)
©R&F Burnt Umber was a good match the shellac with the Medium Brown ©TransTint Liquid Dye.
We used it as an infill for cracks and other anomalies. An example above: it was heated, applied in a line along the crack, allowed to harden, and then scraped with a plastic knife.
After curing, each repair was burnished.
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UPHOLSTERED PANELS
The corners were once upholstered. We removed the upholstery, and the corners were coated with clear shellac.
An organic needled quilter’s cotton was upholstered over a 1/8-inch thick birch plywood panel.
The birch panels were covered with a cotton rayon blend fabric with metallic gold appliqué from Cowtan & Tout.
The panels were held with brass decorative studs set into the framing structure.
The panels were easily removed and reupholstered as necessary.
AFTER TREATMENT
Above, before treatment;
below, after treatment.
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Above, before treatment;
below, after treatment.
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Above, the top of the lid:
each pair, before treatment followed by after treatment.
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Above, before treatment (image shown upside down);
below, after treatment.
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Above, left-facing side before treatment, followed by after treatment.
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Above, underside, before treatment followed by after treatment.
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dkatiepowell@aol.com / mitchellrpowell@aol.com
503.970.2509 / 541.531.2383
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