The following stories are excerpts from chapter 12 of Contemporary Relationships between Wood & Finish: A step-by-step guidebook and design planner for the layperson and professional by Michael Fallarino
ISBN: 0-9700622-1-4 ©Pan-Global Gumbo, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 

The following story is my favorite from the 12 I presented in the book. I couldn’t resist sharing it here.

The Great Lost Armoire Caper
and the Secret Value of Rottenstone
 
Among the tasks my firm accomplished was completely restoring a 150-year-old building that was in commercial use as an antiques center. Over the course of the year it took to complete the job, many large and expensive pieces passed through the center. Almost invariably, the most expensive pieces were brought in by antique dealers, and most arrived with amusing stories.

As months passed, I gradually realized that the dealers were a community of skilled storytellers. A piece would come alive as the legend of its origin and travels around the country or world was retold with composed emotion and verve. Sometimes one felt humbled, awed, or honored to be in the presence of a piece that once belonged to an imperial family, or had a distinguished or sacred past. It was also interesting to learn more and more about a piece as prospective customers elicited details from the dealers.

One day, a large, dilapidated, and unassuming armoire arrived. The dealers engaged a crew member and I to spend a couple of days fixing it. They had paid very little for it. Under their direction, we salvaged repair parts from other dilapidated armoires in an out-building on the property. These parts we reshaped, customized, and installed on the recent arrival, guessing at the spirit of the originals. After the woodworking and leatherwork were done, one of the dealers took over by restoring the finish using custom-mixed latex paint and rottenstone, which he broadcast into the paint as it was applied. The results were impressive. What followed, however, was even more impressive.

The armoire had two large superellipse-arched doors on it. The dealer doing the repair was a gifted artist. With a variety of bright, harmoniously-colored paints and artists’ brushes in hand, he created a stunning and complex motif across the doors. This he accomplished bit by bit, allowing details to unfold directly as an original free-form work of art. The piece was then moved onto the sales floor. It became a good example of how quickly a painting can appreciate, when it was sold for several thousand dollars a few weeks later. But as impressive as this alchemy was, the value of the piece was soon to multiply again.

Several months after the armoire was sold, it was the focus of a three-page feature article in a full-color glossy antiques trade journal. There was no mistaking it: there it sat in all its centerfold photographic glory spread across two pages, the original artwork leaping off the paper. But its pedigree had changed. The magazine recounted the creation myth, its "original" legendary status, and its subsequent mysterious disappearance. The article, in fact, was part of the rediscovery celebration. According to it, the armoire had been out of circulation for most of the 20th century. Its recent recovery from a dark corner in an old New York City basement was deemed newsworthy. The painting had aged well, escalating tenfold in value. The armoire had recently been purchased by a lucky collector for more than $60,000.

Read about the most interesting finish I ever produced:
Making Shaker Cabinets Old