Assimilation Revived

The damaged upholstery was removed. During disassembly, it was discovered that the backrests were filled with cotton and a plant-fiber stuffing. The outer faux leather upholstery had been installed over an earlier leather layer, which was likely not original either, as it consisted of soft suede. Wooden boards added during the most recent repair and covering the seats were removed, along with the dust cover and cushions.

A new acrylic seat was designed using the geometric average of all four chairs in an attempt to guess the true form. To secure the seats, four new holes were drilled through non-original corner supports. The acrylic backrests were mounted without additional drilling.

The intervention preserves the original chairs while exposing their history of use and modification. Evidence of successive reupholsteries remains clearly visible, including cracked wood, jute webbing marked by springs, and wood perforated by tacks from successive reupholsteries