Here is a charming Mazarine commode, from the Louis XIV period.
Curved in a crossbow shape on the front and opening with three drawers in three rows, it is topped with a marquetry top featuring a compass rose on an end-grain wood background. Built on a fir frame, it is covered with a very fine olive veneer in end grain and cross grain, rosewood, ash on the sides, and boxwood for the stringing and compass rose. .
The cross members are joined with straight dovetail joints on the sides, which has caused some deformations in the facing.
The structure is in good general condition, there are very few missing veneers, the varnish has whitened and the glue is partially dehydrated.
The work on this chest of drawers is part of a conservation approach. The aim is to avoid undoing the restoration of the old grafts and to preserve the original finishes, without stripping them. The objective is to restore aesthetic appeal and improve structural stability, while ensuring complete reversibility.
- The old grafts and fillings were corrected by chromatic reintegration using watercolor.
- All the plated surfaces were rehydrated by infiltration of glue.
- Finally, after cleaning with demineralized water, the old varnish was reapplied, after very light sanding, with a colorless French polish. It was then roughened with tripoli wood and refinished with microcrystalline wax. The bronzes were lightly cleaned with demineralized water and then protected with microcrystalline wax.
