Hi Jim,
Thank you for sharing.
Nicely painted case - is there anything that could be done with all the speckled areas on door and lower base to improve its visual appeal without messing it up?
Andy
Sorry, but those "speckled areas" are part of the natural wear and tear. If the paint on this case is original, it should be left alone.
For a collector, faultless would not be desirable. In fact, it is a red flag.
When painted surfaces are faked or simulated (like all the furniture at places like "Hobby Lobby"), wear is simulated as well.
Wear has to make sense, too. That's another point that gets missed when faking or simulating painted surfaces and is another red flag for collectors.
And yes, there a folks out there who are VERY GOOD at doing all that.
So, if the paint on this case if genuine, I feel that the suggested fix is a bad idea.
It sounds like a good Cog Counter's article to illustrate how much is feasible to reduce / minimize defects.
Does anyone understand how artists created the decorations, because this case looks really nice?
Andy
There is much literature about how these surfaces were created using brushes, combs, crumpled paper or rags, feathers, stamps, candle flames, stencils, fingers, etc.
There are some excellent books on the topic of painted furniture.
Fales, "American Painted Furniture: 1660-1880." Great reference. Notice how most of the examples shown, which are considered amongst the best and were at the time of publication were in important private collections and museums, have defects in the surfaces and were left the way they are. For many collectors, expected, part of the history and I dare say, charm.
Churchill, "Simple Forms & Vivid Colors: Maine Painted Furniture, 1800-1850". There is a very good section, "Techniques in Decoration."
Schaffner and Klein, "American Painted Furniture." Pictures some great examples and touches upon techniques and even pictures of the implements used. Clock cases are shown.
RM