Dendrochronological analysis of an English chest: Contributing to knowledge about wood supply and chest production in 16th century England

Domínguez‐Delmás, Marta; Bridge, MC; Visser, A.S.Q.

doi:10.1016/j.dendro.2021.125828

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Even more modern technologies using an industrial CT scanner or X-ray technology allow the analysis of tree rings noninvasively (van den Bulcke et al, 2014;Stelzner and Million, 2015;Daly and Streeton, 2017;Domínguez-Delmás et al, 2021a). Dendrochronological analyses on furniture are less common but similarly important as they highlight woodworking and stylistic changes in the society (Pickvance, 2012(Pickvance, , 2015Klein et al, 2014;Allen, 2015;Domínguez-Delmás et al, 2021b).…”

Section: Wood From Objects Of Art History Instruments and Furniturementioning

confidence: 99%

Dendroarchaeology in Europe

et al. 2022

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Human evolution was strongly related to environmental factors. Woodlands and their products played a key role in the production of tools and weapons, and provided unique resources for constructions and fuel. Therefore wooden finds are essential in gaining insights into climatic and land use changes but also societal development during the Holocene. Dendroarchaeological investigations, based on tree rings, wood anatomy and techno-morphological characteristics are of great importance for a better understanding of past chronological processes as well as human-environment-interactions. Here we present an overview of the sources, methods, and concepts of this interdisciplinary field of dendroarchaeology focusing on Europe, where several tree-ring chronologies span most of the Holocene. We describe research examples from different periods of human history and discuss the current state of field. The long settlement history in Europe provides a myriad of wooden archeological samples not only for dating but also offer exciting new findings at the interface of natural and social sciences and the humanities.

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Section: Wood From Objects Of Art History Instruments and Furniturementioning

confidence: 99%

Dendroarchaeology in Europe

et al. 2022

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“…In art-historical studies, dendrochronology is a well-established discipline used to determine the date and provenance of the wood used to make objects such as sculptures, furniture, or panel paintings (e.g. Klein 1981;Fraiture 2009Fraiture , 2014Domínguez-Delmás et al 2021;Daly & Tyers 2022). While the date of the wood making up the panels provides a terminus post quem date for the object (i.e., the earliest possible production time), the provenance of the wood informs about historical trade connections and their shifts through time (Daly & Tyers, 2022).…”

Section: North Netherlandish Panel Makers' Marksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unraveling a 17th-Century North Netherlandish Panel Maker

2022

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The marking and branding of oak panel painting supports is a well-known practice in art-production centers of the Southern Netherlands, such as Antwerp in the 16th and 17th centuries. Conversely, information about the activities and regulations of 17th-century panel makers in the Northern Netherlands is scant and has hitherto never been thoroughly researched. Here, we present our research on a panel maker who sold his products to painters within the Dutch Republic. He stamped his house mark, consisting of two letters ‘M’ above each other and crowned by the cipher ‘4’, into the back of his panels. This mark has been found on panels from several painters active between 1632 and 1648. To narrow down the location of the unknown panel maker’s workshop, the source of the wood and the eventual interrelationships between the boards he used for the panels were investigated. In addition, the painters who painted on his supports were studied. This paper presents a novel dendrochronological examination of eight of his twenty-three known panels, combined with art historical research into the works of his customers. We propose that Rotterdam could have been the location of the panel maker’s workshop, based on the Baltic provenance of the wood of the panels, the painters who used them, and the supply of timber to the Dutch Republic in the first half of the 17th century. Our understanding of the panel maker’s practices in the 17th century is increased by this interdisciplinary attempt to unravel an unknown Dutch panel maker and his practice. To comprehend the complexity of the booming art market of the 17th-century Netherlands, further research into Dutch frame- and panel-makers and their regulations and practices is urgently needed.

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“…Such disparity on the dates obtained in both occasions can be the result of faulty measurements due to the difficulty of measuring in the radial section of the panel. Although tree-ring research in the radial section of oak has been proven possible in exceptional cases [24,32] it is a challenging endeavour in this case. The close proximity of the earlywood vessels of narrow rings hinders the discrimination of individual tree rings in some portions of the back of the panel, reducing the chances of obtaining a reliable tree-ring series.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

X-ray computed tomography for non-invasive dendrochronology reveals a concealed double panelling on a painting from Rubens’ studio

et al. 2021

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Dating the wood from historical art objects is a crucial step to ascertain their production time, and support or refute attribution to an artist or a workshop. Dendrochronology is commonly used for this purpose but requires access to the tree-ring pattern in the wood, which can be hindered by preparatory layers, polychromy, wax, or integrated frames. Here we implemented non-invasive dendrochronology based on X-ray computed tomography (CT) to examine a painting on panel attributed to Rubens’ studio and its presumed dating around 1636 CE. The CT images achieved a resolution of 37.3 micron and revealed a double panelling, which was concealed by oak strips covering all four edges. The back (visible) board is made of deciduous oak (Quercus subg. Quercus), the most common type of wood used in 17th-century Netherlandish workshops, and was dated terminus post quem after 1557 CE. However, the front (original) board used for the painting has been identified through examination of the wood anatomy as a tropical wood, probably Swietenia sp., a species seldom used in Netherlandish paintings, and remains undated. Its very presence attests the global character of 17th-century trade, and demonstrates the use of exotic species in Flemish studios. The date of the oak board refutes previous results and suggests that this board was trimmed to meet the size of the tropical one, having been glued to it for conservation purposes or with deceiving intentions to pretend that the painting was made on an oak panel. These revelations have opened new lines of art historical inquiry and highlight the potential of X-ray CT as a powerful tool for non-invasive study of historical art objects to retrieve their full history.

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Dendrochronological analysis of an English chest: Contributing to knowledge about wood supply and chest production in 16th century England

Cited by 7 publications

References 15 publications

Dendroarchaeology in Europe

Dendroarchaeology in Europe

Unraveling a 17th-Century North Netherlandish Panel Maker

X-ray computed tomography for non-invasive dendrochronology reveals a concealed double panelling on a painting from Rubens’ studio

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