A great example of an Australian cedar chiffonier. 1850

This piece was in a fairly original state, though it had been over-coated with a thick dark spirit varnish. This varnish had deteriorated and had delaminated in patches, making the finish rather un-appealing. Several veneer sections were also missing. The back and base required much structural work as a result of shrinkage.

The over-varnish was carefully removed revealing the original shellac finish. This had obviously faded Ito become a very light yellow colour, hence why someone had added colour to the over-varnish.

Once back to the original finish, some re-finishing was necessary. It was decided to choose a naturally occurring dark section of cedar, then to colour the lighter regions to match in order to present a more homogenous aesthetic.