A Queen Anne Bureau with a Surprise — The Conservation Center

Though today we call it a desk, this striking piece of furniture is a stunning example of a Queen Anne period bureau. Queen Anne-style furniture was predominant from the 1720s to the 1760s. This bureau, likely constructed circa 1730, is a stunning example of the craftsmanship and design of the time.

This bureau functions as both a writing desk and a chest of drawers with many shelves and spaces to store important belongings. There are a total of six locks on the bureau, but only three keys were still present with the bureau. One key partially functioned on the upper-case door, another partially functioned on the second bureau drawer, and the third key did not match any of the four remaining locks. The examination also showed that the bureau had many prior restoration campaigns, and some of the previous repairs would need to be addressed during treatment. One such repair was a large patch that was applied to the surface of the bottom center of the third drawer, held in place with adhesive and brass paper fasteners.

The first step of the treatment was to resecure any detached moldings and veneers that were loose or lifting using conservation-grade adhesives. Numerous areas needed securing, including the cross-grain molding sections at the upper cornice, the joinery on the lower bureau drawers and interior compartment drawers, and a protruding drawer blade below the second drawer.

The veneer exhibited various insecurities with shrinkage splits, tenting, and minor losses throughout the bureau. These insecurities were treated through the painstaking work of carefully injecting conservation adhesives beneath the veneers. After stabilizing the surrounding surfaces, areas of missing veneer were filled with new veneer to match the loss areas. The drawer dovetail joints were also injected with conservation adhesives for increased stability.

Detail of candle slides revealed beneath veneer

During treatment, two candle slides were discovered beneath the upper doors of the bureau. These slides had been hidden behind veneer added at some point during the bureau's life, so they were no longer functional. To address this, the original slide at the proper left needed to be removed as it had been nailed into place and was no longer functional. The proper right slide had been plugged closed, so the plug was removed. The two slides were rebuilt, using the original materials still present while fabricating new elements where necessary from sourced material to emulate the original.

Detail of candle slide during treatment, with proper right slide recreated

Detail of candle slide after treatment and fabrication

All six locks were removed, cleaned, and repaired to address the lock mechanisms properly. New keys were fabricated so that all the locks could be operational again.

Detail of bail drawer pulls and keys present with the bureau

There was original hardware, such as the door hinges, the three large drawer locks, and most of the internal draw knobs. However, while age and style appropriate, some hardware was not original to the bureau. Two swan neck bail drawer pulls had detached from the third drawer. Replacement bails needed to be sourced for missing hardware, including for the restored candle slides.

The various surfaces of the bureau - the wood veneers, the locks, and the bail drawer pulls were all cleaned as appropriate to remove grime while maintaining the proper patinas. The entire surface was scrutinized and treated as appropriate to integrate the color of the repairs, address discolorations from years of use, and build the proper surface finish. Small areas of poor finish from prior repairs were removed to allow for better coloring with the surrounding areas.

Once this meticulous treatment was complete, this Queen Anne bureau was returned to the client for their home, to be appreciated and admired for decades to come.

Carissa Tonner