Within historic houses furniture surfaces are often richly decorated which can lead to an increased risk of damage due to the different environmental responses of materials. These composite objects are extremely difficult to study and a systematic work assessing the damage caused by changing humidity and by exposure to light still needs to be performed and is the focus of this proposal. With wood having been assessed as the second most damaged material in English Heritage collections, a number of curatorial questions arise, which need to be answered in an interdisciplinary context. The management of furniture collections, particularly decorative surfaces which are extremely costly to perform conservation interventions on, could become even more difficult due to climate change.
Although these objects are well known to be at a great risk of damage, the unanswered questions are still very fundamental. How dry does the environment need to be for damage to occur? How fast does damage occur? How long does it have to be dry for damage to occur? There are also questions about what constitutes damage. Understanding how conservators, curators and the public feel about these questions can also inform decisions about how to manage and care for the collection and its display environment. Intensive cooperation with English Heritage curators and interpretation officers is therefore planned to answer these questions.
Experimental, as well as in situ research will be carried out in order to understand the effect of the display environment. Since small changes are difficult to measure, sensitive equipment is required in situ. The impact of modern scientific equipment within a historic interior also has to be assessed. After the sensitivity of objects to the environment is modelled, the integration of these models with environmental modelling will be attempted. This will allow for examination of various scenarios, informed by climate change predictions.
The outcomes of the project will be intensively disseminated, however, to increase project impact, studies will be performed on how to integrate the new knowledge on the sensitivity of decorated surfaces into heritage management practices, standards and guidelines.
This small exhibition describes the difficulties faced in preserving veneer and marquetry furniture at Kenwood House and the need for further research. Find out more about the range of methods used to understand the collection and improve its preservation. There is the opportunity to discover details of each technique and the information they provide on the collection at Kenwood House. The exhibition will give visitors a better understanding of the types of scientific monitoring used and the research undertaken on collections. It should also help explain how this information can help improve the care of the collections for future generations.
No booking required. Exhibition will be on-site as part of the normal house opening. Free admission.
Image, right: Marquetry furniture in the Housekeeper’s Room, Kenwood House. Image (c) English Heritage
I was just wondering about the ages of everyone on this website. You don't have to answer if you don't want to just curious.
My memory capacity does not moniter my age, only every single comment posted on this website. My creator must programm me to remember before such answer is possible to text.
:dontknow:?? why the big secret on the age Donnie?? :dontknow: I was born Nov 11, 1963, ya'll do the math! :eeeek:
but we are not creeps! posting just your age doesn't give out that much info. I think you just want to be secretive like batman, no one really knew who he was. Yes, I know I'm a young 47 yr old looking gal. Good gene pool!
I'm 29 and holding. I'm skipping February this year and going straight to March so I don't have to turn 30!!!
No but I do remember John Travolta and Saturday night fever. Disco nights! Dancing all night long. Having to put my hand over one eye to drive home.Falling off stools, feathered hair cuts. Night life and polyester. The good ol days. Its amazing Im still alive!
When I said "anyone" could be looking at the posts, I was refering to anyone who hasn't joined up with the forum, there are onlookings who just want to make trouble. And anyway, I am not claiming you are a creep. If you are offended, Then let's just say I don't feel like sharing my age, and forget I said anything about creeps.