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Between heaven and earth. A medieval barrel vault revisited: preservation, materiality and visual communication

For more than 100 years, the painted barrel vault from Ål Stave Church (demolished in 1880) has been a permanent part of the exhibitions in the Historical Museum. The vault, which is richly decorated with 23 painted scenes from both new and Old Testament, was originally part of a fully decorated choir. Preserved wall tiles have doomsday motifs and unidentified saints. With its well-conserved biblical scenes and sizeable dimensions, it is a unique monument from the latter part of the thirteenth century in Norway.

Holy Communion painted on a ceiling.

Eucharist scene on the western end wall of the barrel vault. Photo: Eirik Irgens Johnsen/UiO, KHM.

It is time for a new survey of the original construction, current mounting, and the condition of the painting. Changes in the ground conditions around the museum mean that in the long term it may be necessary to take the ceiling down to avoid damage from vibration and movements. In that case, our investigations will be crucial for this work to be done without damaging the tunnel vault during the process.

The ceilings unique conservation history makes it necessary to re-examine the painting. It is based on a water-soluble medium but was consolidated with the soluble nylon product Maranyl in 1965. Though considered ground-breaking, this new synthetic adhesive soon proved to become insoluble, discolour and remain sticky over time. These are properties incompatible with the strict requirements set for the materials used for the preservation of our cultural heritage. We therefore need to evaluate the condition of the vault and seek possible measures for its future conservation.

We will collect information and experiences from other museums with objects preserved with soluble nylon. Preserved interior decorations made in water-based mediums and wall tiles from Ål stave church that are treated with other methods are important reference materials.

Painting of Jesus Christ
The crucifixion scene on the eastern end wall of the barrel vault. Photo: Eirik Irgens Johnsen/UiO, KHM.

Results from advanced and improved analysis methods linked with new visual observations and ways of documenting the condition and the painterly design will provide new answers to the medieval painter’s palette and its application. The aim is to better understand the impact of the breakdown of the materials over time and previous treatments, as well as its influence on the reading of the colours and their visual expressions. The results will form the basis for new interpretations of the importance of the roof and provide a basis for a better understanding of how it communicated visually and made sense to the believer in the ceiling's Catholic contemporary. Go to Unimusportalen to find more images of the painted barrel vault from Ål Stave Church, catalog number C11707 (only available in Norwegian).

A preliminary project to map the vaults construction and conservation state is planned in the autumn of 2023.

Painting of a stave church
Ål stave church by Georg Bull, 1855. Source: Kulturminner.no.
Published Dec. 19, 2022 2:42 PM - Last modified Apr. 19, 2024 1:05 PM

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We have been given the means to scan the barrel vault in 3D from BItFROST: Bridging Research Across Heritage Studies. This will, for the first time, give us all the measurements and surface structures and thereby create the basis for a new mapping of the construction and documentation of the materials, painting techniques and preservation state.

Linn Solheim og Kaja Kollandsrud has got the talk "A New Look at the Thirteenth Century Painted Vault from Ål Stave Church – its Nature, Conservation History and Future Care" accepted for the conference Bridging the Gap: Synergies Between Art History and Conservation, 23.-24. November 2023, National museum in Oslo.

Kaja Kollandsrud contributes with the talk "The Characteristics of the Distemper Painted Barrel Vault from the Late Thirteenth Century Choir of the Lost Stave Church from Ål, Norway" in research seminar with workshop: "European Painting Techniques on Wood in the Period 1200-1400: Evidence Based Reconstruction According to the Södra Råda Method", Mariestad, University of Gothenburg, Sweden 27.-28. November 2023.