Main Building
al. 3 Maja 1
30-062 Kraków
tel. (48-12) 295 55 87, 295 55 88
The Furniture and Upholstery Conservation Studio of the National Museum in Krakow was founded in around 1966 at the request of Stefan Obrzut the Director of the Joinery, which was approved by the Museum Director Jerzy Banach. The studio was set up in one of the rooms in the joinery, where it remains to this day.
The studio conserves furniture and other wooden items for all the branches of the National Museum. Conservation procedures are applied to all kinds of furniture from various historical periods: both wooden furniture with various types of construction and upholstered furniture.
Full conservation of a piece of furniture involves a number of stages: old coats of varnish are removed, necessary repairs are carried out, after which the wooden surface is finished in an appropriate manner for a particular item. In many cases the furniture is decorated by intarsia or encrustation. During the conservation process various kinds of wood are used to fill in holes, often exotic wood types or other materials such as ivory, mother of pearl or metal.
Upholstered furniture often needs to be repaired or have its upholstery reconstructed. The studio also performs this kind of work. Natural filling materials and appropriate fabrics are used for this purpose.
The surface of the furniture is usually finished by waxing or French polishing.
The studio also carries out assessments of the state of preservation of pieces of furniture and inspects storage conditions in rooms where they are kept.
Staff:
Roman Janik – Senior Renovator, Director
Wiesław Michalik – Renovator
Stanisław Słota – Renovator
Zbigniew Morawski – Renovator
Piotr Żurek – Renovator
Paweł Lipiński MA – Conservation Assistant
|
