Pieter de Loose and Michiel Verbiest gilded table with marquetry table top: conservation treatment and research.

The article will examine the conservation treatment on one of the Peeter de Loose and Michel Verbiest masterpieces: the gilded table with marquetry table top from 1689, that is part of the Rijksmuseum collection. The intervention was performed due to an accident that has caused structural and superficial damages on the gilded base. The treatment mainly focused on one of the cherub figures. Preliminary non-invasive analyses where conduct in order to properly evaluate the state of conservation. Important informations were discovered thanks to the x-ray imaging, such as the construction of the figure and the presence of previous restorations. Due to the condition of the gilding and the wooden support, a preliminary consolidation and adhesion of the fragments was required. The structural damages, mainly located on the left leg, were fixed with animal glue. The losses and cracks were filled with gesso and retouched with gouache colors. The conservation treatment was part of the internship that Corinne Suraci has done at the Furniture conservation studio of the Rijksmuseum. The proposal was discussed with the Head of the Studio Paul van Duin and with the Junior Furniture Conservator Jan Dorshied. The treatment was a perfect occasion to deepen the study on the gilding, starting with the comparison between the collected data from the analyses and the cleaning test. The gilding is covered by various overpainting which give to the base a patchy appearance. Chemical cleaning test was performed with mixture of solvent and aqueous solution. The test has led to bibliographic research on the methods currently in use to remove bronze paints on top of a water sensitive surface such as a water gilding. As a result of the studies a proper methodology is proposed in this article. The complete treatment is expected to take six months.