A door with a story — Hart Amsterdammuseum

In a house museum that is open seven days a week, certain parts of the building, such as the doors, irreversibly wear out due to intensive use. An exterior door is also exposed to major climate differences between the exterior and interior.

The museum has traditionally attached little value to the areas of the building for the service staff. The decor here was obviously simple and austere and therefore less interesting from an art-historical point of view. For example, it was possible that the basement was converted into a staff residence for the three successive caretakers and also served as a coal shed and bicycle shed. More recently, spaces that used to have a completely different function were used for ticket sales, the cloakroom, the catering kitchen and for receiving groups.

The low appreciation continued in the way in which damage was repaired: when restoration seems to be expensive, people soon decide to replace the window, door, frame or even ceiling and floor in question.

(For an overview of the innovations in the basement: see this previously published blog)

Although an uncomplicated construction such as our garden door could certainly have been copied, the major disadvantage of a newly manufactured replica is that it lacks all traces of age, use and repairs. Moreover, there is often a tendency among the makers involved to want to do it ‘better’ or at least more modern than the original, which means that information about historical technique and use of materials is lost.

Extensive documentation and/or storage of the original elsewhere offers only partial relief, because the historical cohesion is lost through the alienation of the object from its environment. Moreover, it is impractical and costly if the storage capacity of the museum is claimed for the length of days for building fragments.

That is why this time we have tried to preserve this ‘ordinary’ historical part as much as possible and to change it as little as possible. The experience of still preserved authentic aspects in the basement was paramount.

Condition of the door

Prolonged water had affected the woodwork of the door in a number of places. Due to the placement in the north facade and also due to the construction around the iron grille, the whole often remained damp for too long, which meant that mold could develop. Modern paintwork offered no protection against this, in fact; it formed an impermeable film that promoted rather than prevented mold growth. In addition, improper repairs to the hinges and locks had been carried out on a number of occasions, as a result of which the closing style was weakened and the door no longer turned properly.

Therapy

When restoring a door, it is usually unavoidable to completely dismantle the construction. Only in this way can the individual styles, rails, frames and panels be joined together, after which the connections can be made solid and fit again. An additional advantage of such a dismantling is that traces of previous repairs and adjustments come to light that can tell something about the history of the object.

For example, executive restorer Reinier Klusener discovered that this door was renovated at a certain point; it has been modified to accommodate the large modern cast iron grate and revolving window behind it. That grille is not, as usual, set in a planed groove in the styles and rails, but in loosely mounted frames. A technically less than ideal solution that indicates that the rules and styles have been adjusted. Beneath that, the traces of a pair of crossbars from an earlier window in the upper part of the door were still visible.

This adaptation from a door-with-cross-bar window to a door-with-turned-window-and-cast-iron upper grate is probably nineteenth century. The painting is a light oak wood imitation that is also found on all other doors of the basement. This probably dates from the time of the Willet-Holthuysen family (1860-1895). It is striking that we often see in the house that old doors have been adapted for these residents and, for example, decorated with fashionable profiles or imitations of wood grain that were popular at the time. Apparently, ‘up-cycling’ of existing interior items was also common among such very well-to-do homeowners.

After dismantling, healing followed, the repair of damaged parts, usually with glued pieces of healthy pine wood. Klusener strove to carry out the construction as authentically as possible, for example with unglued mortise and tenon corner joints that are only closed by bar nails. The cast iron grate remains a weak point in the construction; it makes the door extra heavy and the grille is mounted on the outside so that rainwater drips off and collects in the groove below. The restorer has therefore made slots in the groove to allow the leaking water to drain off quickly. The heavily worn modern leaf hinges have been replaced with reconstructions of the original heavy curved hinges. These are copied from historical models and are expected to be better able to support the weight of the door.

After the outside painting in canal green and a basic color on the inside by Klusener, the restoration painter and color researcher Karin van der Lem took care of the light oak wood imitation on the inside of the door. A water sauce has been beaten on a light ocher ground layer, an oil glaze has provided more depth and a final varnish provides shine and protection.

Photos: R. Klusener, J. Boonstra, K. van der Lem