STUDY, CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION OF AN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY CUTLERY CASE

The intervention of conservation and restoration of an eighteenth century cutlery case and its historical, material and technical study, allowed not only to restore the physical integrity and original function of the case, but also to deepen the knowledge about the materials and constructive system of the storage furniture, which embodies an important testimony of the table etiquette developed in the Portuguese society of the eighteenth century, under the influence of the French court of Louis XIV. This article aims to describe the historical and aesthetical context in which this piece has emerged and its material and technical features based on the results of the laboratorial analysis that were performed.