Sixth International Symposium on Wood and Furniture Conservation
Stichting Ebenist / Rijksmuseum Amsterdam / Instituut Collectie Nederland
13-14 December 2002

THE MEETING OF EAST AND WEST IN THE FURNITURE TRADE

Registration
If you would like to attend the symposium, please contact the Instituut Collectie Nederland (opleidingen@icn.nl) before 30 November 2002. Registration will not be confirmed.
The registration fee is € 145. Students pay a reduced fee of € 130. Half-price tickets to attend only one conference day are not available. Lunches, the excursion to The Hague and postprints of the symposium are included in the registration fee.
Fees for registration have to be paid in cash on Friday 13 December at the registration desk in the Rijksmuseum. Creditcard payments cannot be accepted.

The conference takes place at:
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Main Entrance B, Stadhouderskade 42, Amsterdam.
The museum is within easy reach by public transport, tram 2-5-6-7 and 10.
Parking facilities are scarce and expensive.
Web: www.rijksmuseum.nl

Information
Instituut Collectie Nederland
Tel: 00-31-20-305 46 59 and -305 16 62 (Tuesday-Friday: 9.00am- 12.00pm)
Fax: 00-31-20-305 46 90
Web: www.icn.nl
E-mail: opleidingen@icn.nl

Amsterdam Hotel Information: Tel: 00-31-20 520 70 00, 00-31-20 420 00 79 and 00-31-900 400 40 40.

Programme

Word of welcome
Mr. Kees ZandvIiet, head of the department of Dutch history and compiler of the exhibition 'The Dutch encounter with Asia, 1600-1950' in the Rijksmuseum
The foundation, 400 years ago, of the Dutch East-India Company 'VOC' provided the theme of the symposium. A short historical introduction will be given as an invitation to visit the leading exhibition of the commemoration of the VOC.

Furniture trade in the colonial East
Mr. Amin Jaffer, curator, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
A view on the outspoken differences in the production of furniture in the various outposts of the colonial East. The influence of local tradition and the homeland demands on design, craftsmanship and the use of materials: how can we recognise the origins of colonial furniture?

Conservation of an ivory-clad drop front secretary from Vizagapatam, India
Ms. Apathy Z. Gillis, objects conservator and Mr. David Park Curry, curator of American arts, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond
The recently acquired diminutive, ivory-clad drop-front secretary exemplifies the international luxury trade between India and America in the 18th century. The technical research prior to its conservation provided an enviable opportunity to study hardly- touched surfaces, construction methods and exotic materials of centuries old.

Mahogany in Jamaica was like gold in the Reign of Soloman
Mr. John Cross, senior lecturer, London Guildhall University, London
Answers will be given to questions about the trade in furniture and wood between Europe and Colonial Jamaica, 1700-1834. Had mahogany the same social cachet in Jamaica as in Britain? Was the fashion for the use of mahogany set in Europe or was it inspired by its interest in Jamaica?

Tortoiseshell imitations
Ms. Elisabeth Grall, private furniture conservator, Paris
Due to its exclusiveness tortoiseshell has been imitated with various materials. An imitation of this exotic material by the use of horn is presented. Its behaviour when exposed to variations in temperature, humidity and light makes it a reliable material to be used by conservators.

The problem of substitutes for tortoiseshell
Mr. Donald Williams, furniture conservator, Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Conservation, Washington
Various materials have been used to imitate tortoiseshell. Esthetic characters and physical properties are compared, as well as their suitability in conservation. Recent developments under review by the U.S. Patent Office provide a source of faux tortoiseshell with working properties remarkably similar to the genuine material.

'Sawn, divided, cut, cleft and slit asunder' - 18th-century export lacquer screens and their conservation
Ms. Irmela Breidenstein, private furniture conservator, Mönchengladbach
Fragments of laquer screens are often found on fine European cabinetwork. The conservation of a Chinese lacquer cabinet in Schloss Falkenlust shows complex interferences and raises the question: does it make sense to conserve transformed Asiatic lacquerwork with original Asiatic methods?

Differences between conservation techniques for Japanese lacquerwork in Europe and Japan
Ms. Mariko Nishide, private conservator of lacquerwork, Amstelveen
Conservators in Europe are rather ignorant when it comes to conservation techniques and the use of proper materials for Japanese lacquerwork. On the basis of some striking European conservation projects, Ms. Nishide will make a plea to employ authentic techniques using the original Urushi lacquer: the only sensible way to return the original beauty to the object.

Removal of varnish from japanned and lacquered surfaces: principles and practice
Ms. Shayne Rivers, senior furniture conservator, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Removing unwanted Western varnish, both from japanning and lacquer, is difficult because the materials which will be most effective are also the most likely to damage the underlying surface. With reference to specific cases, Ms. Rivers discusses the principles of varnish removal.

Panel discussion on the ethical aspects of lacquer conservation, with Ms. Rivers, Ms. Breidenstein and Ms. Nishide.

Saturday 14 December 2002

Jakarta project for preventive conservation
Mr. Martijn de Ruijter, conservator of wooden artifacts, Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden
The project is cooperation of the Jakarta Institute for Museums and Conservation and the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam. It comprehended a survey of seven museum collections in Jakarta: their housing, registration and condition. A beginning was made with a joint Dutch-Indonesian conservation treatment of these collections.

English cane chairs, a mix of Asian and European traditions
Mr. David Dewing, director, The Geffrye Museum, London
This paper looks at the influence of the Orient on English furniture in the late 17th century, focusing on one manifestation, the cane chair. There can have been only little profit in shipping this material half way around the world, so how did cane chairs become so fashionable in England and Holland between the 1680s and the 1720s?

A typical Dutch piece of furniture, isn't it?
Mr. Pol Bruys, private furniture conservator, Amsterdam
A cabinet all made of solid tropical wood except for the construction parts made of oak. Dutch or Colonial? A call for gathering information about this type of furniture.

Introduction to the exhibition 'Domestic interiors at the Cape and in Batavia: 1602-1795' at the Haags Gemeentemuseum
Mr. Deon ViIjoen, art and antique dealer, Cape Town
The exhibition presents forty top pieces of both Cape and Batavia furniture. Mr. ViIjoen is responsible for bringing together the unique collection of South African furniture. He will make stimulating opening remarks on the exhibition with special attention for style, use of material and construction. script src="js/toe.js" language="javascript">