Preservation of Distemper Painting: Indoor Monitoring Tools for Risk Assessment and Decision Making in Kvernes Stave Church

Abstract

During the Medieval period, over 1000 stave churches were thought to have been constructed in Norway. However, currently, only 28 of these churches remain and only 19 still have distemper wall paintings. The cultural significance of these structures, and more specifically their elaborate distemper wall paintings, has changed over time, as have the means and methods for preserving these monuments. Deeper knowledge of the current state of these structures, along with environmental monitoring and modeling will open the way to a better understanding of preservation. This paper presents a case study for unheated Norwegian wooden churches based on data collected from Kvernes stave church. There are three aims for this paper: (i) to describe the typical indoor conditions similar to the historic climate of stave churches; (ii) determine the common characteristics of distemper paint found within stave churches; (iii) and develop a risk assessment tool to evaluate the climate-induced risk factors in stave churches. The outcome of this work will contribute to research performed within the Sustainable Management of Heritage Buildings in a Long-term Perspective (SyMBoL) project which aims to develop a better understanding of climate induced risks for stave churches, and ultimately to better manage environmental risk.

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