Condition:

Interior of Chest: Generally the walls of the chest are structurally sound, however, the base of the chest is no longer attached. Overall, the structural stability of the chest is compromised due to the base remaining detached. Losses are present at the base of the chest walls and along the edges of the detached base. Several nails that would have secured the base to the walls are missing.

The interior of the chest has light soiling and surfaces would benefit from cleaning. The box has 9 compartments total: 4 for smaller vials and 5 for larger decanters. Only 4 large decanters are present with the object, no smaller vials or 5th decanter bottle remain. One interior partitioned wooden section is broken into two pieces. Wooden elements require reattachment. Losses are present throughout, with 2 pieces that are detached completely.

The interior of the lid possesses coloured lining paper that is intact but brittle overall. Corner joints have become detached and need to be re-adhered. The roof of the box is lined with red velvet that is still partially intact. The joint between the fabric and paper is covered with a gold metal braid that is moderately tarnished.

Exterior of Chest: Shagreen shark skin is in good condition and stable. Light corrosion on the hardware of the chest.

Bottles: The bottles are in good condition. Three bottles are filled 1/3 with deposits of yellow/amber liquid while one possesses dried remains of a red substance. All caps are covered with Parafilm. The liquids are currently unidentified. All bottles containing liquid have seized tops; the top of the bottle with the dried red substance is removable.

Treatment:

Cleaning: Brush and vacuum on all surfaces apart from delicate portions of interior textile. Smoke sponge was used to treat leather and wood surfaces. Wood was cleaned using 3% Orvus in 1:1 solution of deionised water + white spirit using cotton swabs. Ivory key fob was cleaned using eraser and groom-stick first followed by minimal application of IMS using cotton swabs to remove embedded soiling on surfaces. Metal braids were cleaned using White spirit and IMS using cotton swabs. Brass hardware was cleaned using White spirit and IMS using cotton swabs. Remove verdigris and corrosion from hinges using mechanical cleaning and IMS.

Reconstruction:

The chest was reassembled with fish glue and clamps. One large wood loss was filled using a wood of a similar thickness and type. Wood fills were tinted using black acrylic paint. Lifting paper was re-adhered to the surfaces, careful to avoid damage to brittle surfaces. All lifting shagreen coverings were re-attached to box using fish glue. Two new nails were added in the reattachment of the base, careful to match original nails and previous holes to size and design.

Bottles:

Contents of bottles were sampled to determine if liquids were hazardous. Sold samples were taken from the edges of the bottle caps and tested using FTIR to determine their primary compositions. It was determined the contents likely contained mixtures of ethylene glycol and glycerine based solutions.