Paid Post-graduate Interns at CCI — 2009
Amanda Salmon

I have an Honours BA in Art History and English from Queen’s University (2001) and a diploma in Collections Conservation and Management from Fleming College (2004). Since graduating, I have interned at Parks Canada and worked for a private furniture restoration firm in Ottawa as well as several museums and heritage institutions across Ontario. I have been a member of the Canadian Association for Conservation (CAC) since 2004, and am currently their Ottawa Regional Representative as well as Co-Chair of the Public Relations Committee for their 36th annual conference in Ottawa in 2010. I am also a co-founder of the Emerging Conservators Committee (formerly the Canadian Association of Emerging Conservators). My internship in the Furniture and Decorative Arts Lab at CCI began in 2007.

I am currently working on the treatment of a Victorian sewing table that was damaged in a fire at the Billings Estate Museum during the 1980s. Upon its arrival in the CCI laboratory, the table was soiled and charred, the inlaid veneer was missing on the top and the front of the apron, the front of the work basket and the base were scorched, and the remaining veneer was blistered and lifting. Although the structure was considered stable, two decorative applied turnings originally attached to the columns of the base were split and detached. Several sections of moulding originating from the apron were also detached or missing. Silk fittings were discoloured, stained, and soiled. The finish on the front of the object was scorched and extensively deteriorated, with a black, rough, and crackled appearance. The surface finish on the sides, back, and bottom was rough and exhibited extensive water damage.

The condition of the table poses a variety of complex treatment issues. Removing the layer of soot that covers the object has proven to be challenging (it is likely that the shellac finish, having softened in the elevated temperature of the fire, imbibed the soot particles generated during the fire). Areas of char must be consolidated with a stable resin that can not only accommodate the inevitable movement of the adjacent intact wood in response to humidity fluctuations, but also bond with additional adhesive, fill material, and veneer components. Missing marquetry decoration must be replicated, necessitating the fabrication of a specialized tool (called a chevalet) for cutting the precise and intricate designs in the veneer. Finally, a stable and reversible varnish is required to return the table to the appropriate level of gloss and colour saturation.