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This article first appeared in Conservation News 74. Fifth International Symposium on Wood and Furniture Conservation7-9 December 2000. Organized by: Stichting Ebenist, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and ICN*, Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage.Every second year Amsterdam is the showground for this Symposium. The growing number of international participants makes this event a perfect opportunity to interact with collegues worldwide. In view of next year's 'European Year of the Interior' the subject of the two-day event was the Conservation, Restoration and Reconstruction of Inferiors. The Rijksmuseum played host to approximately 250 guests. In addition to the presented papers, participants were given the opportunity to join one of the three excursions organized to give an impression of Dutch interiors in and around Amsterdam. Day one found us enjoying a cup of coffee and renewing old acquintances whilst awaiting the registration in the crowded Entrance Hall before proceeding to the Auditorium where the General Director of the Rijksmuseum, Prof. R. de Leeuw welcomed us. Paul van Duin, Head of Furniture Conservation and chairman of the day introduced the first two speakers who shared their findings on the eighteenth-century Lacquer Room at the Residential Palace of Rastatt, Germany. In comparing the contemporary treatise of lacquering techniques, written by Sybilla Augusta of Baden-Baden, who commisioned the Lacquer Room, with the results of the analitical findings it was found to be remarkably accurate and provided valuable information that helped the course of current treatment. Unfortunately the projectionist's irritating inability to focus the slides properly marred this interesting paper. The next presentation was the conservation of the sixteenth-century painted wooden ceiling of the Ursula Church in Warmenhuizen, The Netherlands. It showed us just how modern materials and techniques can solve complex problems where traditional approaches had failed. First we heard an introduction to the history of the painted wooden ceilings, their subsequent relocation to the Rijksmuseum and their eventual return to the Ursula Church. The technical solutions for this tedious four-year running project demanded massive research and involved the use of Aramide©:/epoxy honeycomb boards in conjunction with epoxy resins to produce an ingenious solution that can be studied in the post-print. The essence, as the speaker concluded: "In this case and for this use: Plastic is Fantastic". The Spindler Brothers' workshop in Potsdam, Germany, produced some very fine cabinetwork in the second half of the eighteenth century. One of the brothers' works is a marquetry floor in the Neues Palais in Potsdam. The lecture presented some new facts about the Spindlers' work and the working conditions of this floor. The presentation of a particular approach to the dismantling and remounting of painted panels from the Salon La Rivière at the Musée Carnavalet, Paris, caused some controversial discussion. The intrusive way of releasing potential tension in the panels by cutting the frame's rebate and remounting it with metal clips and stabilising the backsides of the panels by impregnating with a beeswax/paraffin wax mixture encountered some resistance from the audience. Next, a colleague from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, United States, showed us that balancing reproductions with eighteenth-century period furniture allowed a more interactive interpretation of period rooms. It gave me a lot to think on what a museum could do without any original objects. The long day was concluded with a paper on the reconstruction of the theatre of the Royal Castle, Ulriksdal, Sweden and its fascinating and ingenious mechanism for a dining table rising from the floor below. This device allowed intimate and discrete conversations to take place without fear of being overheard by servants. Unfortunately due to the lack of linguistic skills of the speaker many of the secrets of this unique room remained behind locked doors for the exhausted delegates. Day Two. The morning coffee was much needed for many of us after discovering Amsterdam's nightlife. The chair was in the hands of P. Bruys, private conservator and the initiator of this important series of Symposia. The conservation of Turkish Kundekari screens was the starter of the first lecture. These screens, made of highly complex multi-angled panel elements, are an important feature of interior and exterior architecture in Turkey. The slides were easier to comprehend than the lecture that was delivered in rather incomprehensible English. The same happened with the following speaker, talking about the conservation of a very interesting archaeological turned Mashrabiyya wooden screen, (No. 29979, from the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo, Egypt). Not all the information came across well but as the lecturer mentioned "Everything is in the post-print". A short presentation followed on the restoration and reconstruction of the living quarters of a Dutch peat barge. It gave an amazing insight into the life "on board" in the nineteenth century. The next impressive and very interesting paper dealt with the findings of a very thorough research into Perspectiva (miniature illusionary parts of cabinet interiors). The catoptric systems in miniature interiors in Antwerp cabinets didn't have anything to hide after this lecture. The new J.P. Getty Museum, Los Angeles, United States, was confronted with revealing findings during the conservation of four French boiseries (panelling) that sparked a heated debate between architects and art-historians and resulted in different approaches for the four panels during re-installation. The presentation of the new Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, included the rationale for the decisions made on the treatments of the Riddles Court panels and the Kirkcaldy Room and gave very clear insights of the difficulties that arise during conservation. The day was ended by a team presentation of the historic interiors of the Rijksmuseum of the past and the present displays, including some very nice visual backup. The chairman reminded the delegates not to miss the party in his stunning workshop that same evening, we certainly did not. The excursion the next morning brought us to Haarlem and Zaandam. The interiors gave a fascinating image of eighteenth-century Holland. The trip ended in the working paint-windmill from 1788, where minerals and plants are ground and chopped to manufacture pigments and dyes. Not only this important Symposium but also the city and its surroundings are more than worth a visit. The very pleasant atmosphere of the city is present everywhere and not only for those tourists with a certain herbal interest. Living and working in the heart of Amsterdam for many years helped me to share a few nice spots with only a very few UKIC colleagues. Efforts were made by Graham Marley to organize a trip but attracted very little interest... With such a versatile and interesting programme this would have been a worthwhile long weekend for many UKIC members. Considering the strength of Sterling against the Euro this would have been the best value for money available. Maybe see you in two years?
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