Restoration carriage Presentation Phaeton, from the 19th century, manufactured by ALFRED BERVALLETTE.
Full historic restoration using artisan processes by Carruajes Romero in 2019.
History
It is the horse carriage with the most numerous family of variants, because the range of types of Phaeton, with different names, is very wide.
Its name comes from Greek mythology. Phaetòn, son of Helios, God of the sun, wanted to guide his father’s chariot of fire but the horses ran wild, setting fire to heaven and earth, punishing him Zeus with his expulsion from Olympus.
The box is rectangular and usually has in its lower front part, at the height of the davit, an arch called wheel passage, because it allows the rotation of the front wheels, passing under the box.
This carriage is suspended on four pin springs. Some model can go with hood or without it, indistinctly. It is hooked on single horse, pairs, or even in quarters.
Specifically, this carriage was built by the house “Hnos.Bervallette” very appreciated for the quality of all his work.
The House “BELVALLETTE” was founded by Jean-Baptiste (1785-1855) in Boulogne sur Mer. Opening the company, in 1850, a delegation in Paris. The first-born Jacques (1812-1889) ran the facilities of Boulogne sur Mer, while his brother Norbert (1817-1897) ran those of Paris. To emphasize that this last step to be son-in-law of Charles Binder in February of 1882 marrying with its smaller daughter Henriette Madaleine.
Restoration
After the usual visual examination, we observed a very poor state of conservation, observing an important attack of xylophagous insects, possibly active and appreciable through numerous orifices present in the lower box area, in addition to a considerable generalized aging of the leather, observing undernourished areas , cracks, breaks and losses of support.
The main hood undergoes significant breaks with a high level of fragility in all tissues as a result of oxidation and wear and tear.
All the background paint surface is deteriorated with very little vision of its original color
Once the restoration work has begun with the corresponding technical treatments, a complete disinsection and consolidation of the wood is carried out.
We highlight in this project the recovery of all the fabric in poor condition, together with the upholstery of the hood in green cloth inside and black leather on the outside.
Special attention to the restoration of the lanterns with the corresponding arrangement of doors, cleaning of oxidation of metals and silvering of its interior.
