A first contact and a very fine job by Rachèle for the restoration of this walnut prie-dieu dating from the end of the 19th century.
The project was quite daunting. Left abandoned for years, it had been ravaged by wood-boring insects. The first task was to treat the piece of furniture with anoxic agents for 21 days. Then, as nothing was holding together anymore, each element was disassembled, which wasn't too difficult, and then reassembled with fish glue. The rear legs, a molded panel on the right side, and a few severely worm-eaten pieces were replaced with new walnut.
Beneath the dust, the patina was still quite attractive. It was therefore restored using a heat gun, and then a light coat of wax was applied to prevent soiling the sculptures. The original yellow velvet was preserved.
To see previous restorations : https://ebenisterie-mathieuvath.fr/en-ce-moment-a-latelier/
