A skewed balance?

Abstract

Thesis for the degree of philosophiae doctor (PhD) 2018 i 1550', which this PhD is a significant part of. I am grateful to the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History (IAKH) for generously providing me with funding to undertake further research trips. I would also like to acknowledge the Kaia and Torfinn Tobiassens Fond for covering the cost of an additional research trip to Germany. Countless people have supported and guided me throughout the PhD period. I would like to thank my amazing supervisors Lotte Hedeager and Michael Rief for guidance, advice and support during the second half of my stipend period. I am grateful to the Museum of Cultural History at the University of Oslo for granting access to the sculptures, and particularly to Torunn Klokkernes and Anne Lene Melheim for granting approval for analysis. Many thanks to conservators Eivind Bratlie and Kaja Kollandsrud for their trust, allowing me to use their conservation atelier, giving me a helping hand when handling the sculptures, and generously sharing their knowledge about the museum collection with me. I am thankful to the Getty Conservation Institute for hosting me during my research stay in Los Angeles, and for the warm welcome offered to me by Tom Learner, Michael Schilling and Gary Mattison. In particular, I would like to thank Joy Mazurek for generously sharing her time, knowledge and expertise in GC-MS, and Herant Khanjian for his support with FTIR. Special thanks are due to my fellow PhD colleague Kristin Kausland, whose strength, knowledge and friendship helped me significantly during difficult times. I would like to thank Per Ditlef Fredriksen as Head of Research for keeping an open door for me and providing me with advice and a listening ear. I am grateful to Duncan Slarke for friendship and technical support, as well as for being my anchor of sanity within Conservation Studies. Our amazing librarian Lisa Benson deserves mention for having gone out of her way in helping me get hold of literature. I would like to thank Unn Plahter for useful constructive criticism during my midway evaluation. I am grateful to Calin Steindal at the Saving Oseberg project for extensive technical support with SEM-EDS. I would also like to thank Aoife Daly for undertaking dendrochronology, and Bjørnar Slensvik and Heidi Debreczeny Wilkinson at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute for use of the CT scanner. Thanks are also due to Steinar Kristensen for advice on photogrammetry, Jan Brendalsmo for sharing his knowledge about Norwegian church history, and Rebecca Cannell for advice with map-making. The following individuals have generously shared their knowledge and expertise