|
|
Article: Fit for a queen: a secretaire made by Jean-Henri Riesener for Marie-Antoinette's private apartments at Versailles in 1780 has recently been conserved by the Wallace Collection, using innovatory techniques developed by the museum. As Yannick Chastang and Eleanor Tollfree explain, this delicate project has revealed significant information about Riesener's practices.
- Article from:
- Apollo
- Article date:
- October 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Apollo Magazine Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
One of the finest pieces of French royal furniture in the Wallace Collection is the secretaire or desk made for Queen Marie-Antoinette in 1780 by the cabinet maker Jean-Henri Riesener. Its recent conservation provided a unique opportunity to put into practice the innovatory conservation techniques that have been developed and refined during the past ten years by the Wallace Collection's conservation department and also to discover more about the techniques used by Riesener's workshop in the latter part of the eighteenth century. (1)
Riesener's furniture in the Wallace Collection
As described by Peter Hughes in the catalogue of furniture at the Wallace ...
