Expert: Eileen Cronk - 6/10/2005

Question
I have a whole set of louie the XIV furniture, the setee and 2 parlor chairs, a nest of tables and coffee table and 2 end tables, also 2 large arm chairs. All of the furniture is very ornate, with lots of carving, the tables are all hand carved wood and the tops are inlaid with several different kinds of wood. The table tops are all covered with glass tops. My question is, I live in the high desert, it is very dusty and the carving gets full of dust, also I am almost retired,  I inherited the furniture from my Mom who inherited it from her Mom, I can remember cleaning it when I was 5- 6 years old at my grandmothers house, I can say for sure that the furniture is over 80 years old, although I am not to sure of the exact age. I also would like to know how to keep the wood from getting dried out, the furniture is in excellent condition, but I am worried that it is to dry out here for it. I did look for marks but so far I was unable to find any, do you have any idea where if any the marks could be. I beleive the furniture came from somewhere in Chicago, although I could be wrong.

Thank You

Answer
Hi Sandy
Nice to hear from you.
Your furniture sounds wonderful.
How lucky you are to have this in the family.
Its not uncommon Sandy for there to be no furniture maker marked on furniture.
The marks will be quite visable if they are there along the underside of the chairs or the bottom of the tables.
The only thing I would put on this furniture would be lemon oil once or twice a year.
Hope this helps
Kindest Regards
Eileen