Discover Mid-America — February 2012
Let there be light…with caution
Light affects the color of wood in furniture. Wood lightens over time with exposure to light even without the effects of moisture. A piece of lumber left exposed in the desert eventually bleaches out to almost white.
An exception to that rule is how certain woods change color over time with exposure to light. For example, generally walnut has a brown appearance when properly cured. But over time, after a hundred years or more of exposure to light, the walnut begins to take on a slightly reddish hue. Conversely, mahogany starts out in a blaze of red glory but after long-term exposure to light begins to “brown out” and resemble walnut.
That’s why, in addition to similar grain patterns, mahogany and walnut can be hard to differentiate after two hundred years.
The possibility of light damage to antique furniture can lead to serious protective measures. In one example, a notable museum with a fantastic collection of American 17th and 18th century furniture allows no large natural or artificial light source to shine on any of its objects. The rooms are kept in darkness, illuminated only by the flashlights of the docents who lead the guided tours.
But light damage also can occur within one’s lifetime. I once had the pleasure of being hired to refinish a Depression-era, mahogany dining room table with matching chairs. The good news is the set was in good condition structurally needing only finish work.
The bad news is that the set had sat more or less undisturbed in the dining room for many years with the exception of the occasional holiday family meal. The chairs with backs to the window had never been moved. The chairs that faced the window suffered a similar fate. The backs of half the set were lightened by exposure to a significant degree as were the fronts of the other half of the set.
After I removed the doily and the mirror-based epergne from the center of the table, I found an area that had the original finish color, which contrasted greatly with the rest of the table that had quietly lost its color from exposure to the light through a large picture window in the dining room. The problems were fixable but not without leaving a shadow on the table top.
Photograph lighting
When furniture is photographed in fluorescent light, it will appear greenish in tint in the photo. Under incandescent light, it will have a dark reddish warm tint. This can present a problem in a shop when the furniture craftsman must match a color to an existing piece.
The preferred light source to photograph furniture is filtered northern morning light from the sun but that’s not always available and intensity varies by time of day. The solution is to use “daylight” fluorescent bulbs, which is almost neutral, very cool and not harsh.
Light also can influence the way furniture is made. If you’ve ever examined the carving on an elegant 18th century piece, you no doubt have noticed the crisp detail and the high relief of the carving. It stands proudly above its background. This is so the carving can be seen in the low light conditions of most 18th century residences. If the carvings were rounded with low relief, they would disappear into the background in the low light.
Visit Fred's website at www.furnituredetective.com. His book "HOW TO BE A FURNITURE DETECTIV"? is available for $18.95 plus $3.00 S&H. Send check or money order for $21.95 to Fred Taylor, PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423.
Fred and Gail Taylor?s DVD, ?IDENTIFICATION OF OLDER & ANTIQUE FURNITURE?, ($17.00 + $3.00 S&H) and a bound compilation of the first 60 columns of "COMMON SENSE ANTIQUES by Fred Taylo" ($25.00 + $3.00 S&H) are also available at the same address. For more information call (800) 387-6377, fax (352) 563-2916, or e-mail info@furnituredetective.com.