This project was funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), project no. P 34477-G (“Gates to Paradise: Creating metal doors for 11th-12th century churches”; head of project: Marianne Mödlinger). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish (online and/or scientific papers). There has been no additional external funding received for this study. The project is located at the IMAREAL (Institut für Realienkunde des Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit) in Krems, Austria.
*Italian Byzantine doors; doors: no.s 1-22; door handles: no.s 23-24. Further doors are known from Germany (Augsburg, Mainz, Hildesheim), Poland (Gniezno) and Russia (Novgorod).
Aims and Objectives
The project will identify materials used and technologies applied for the construction of 11th-12th century metal doors of European churches and shed light on how these choices are connected to the iconography and semantic of specific scenes by using an interdisciplinary approach including history, art history, and archaeometry, and by creating new analytical data. The main objectives of the project are to:
- Characterise techniques and material used in the construction of the metal doors;
- Identify artists, and their alloys and techniques used;
- Detect connections between the choice, semantic and iconology of material and techniques used.
Methods
Using published historical and archaeological data, the project will generate new analytical data on metal doors from 11th and 12th century European churches. On-site analyses will include non-invasive chemical analyses using a handheld XRF instrument, and complete high-resolution photographic documentation of the doors. Micro-samples of metal, inlay and corrosion, examined by SEM-EDXS and optical microscopy, provide further information on the materials and treatments used. Original wooden parts of the doors will be examined by dendrochronological and radiocarbon analyses. All these analyses, combined with an art historical evaluation, allow the visualisation of networks of material knowledge: properties, affordance and material iconology in pictorial systems.
Level of originality
For the first time, ecclesiastical metal doors from the 11th-12th century and their various components are fully chemically characterised and their manufacturing technique identified by non-invasive and micro-invasive analyses. This will make it possible to identify the traditions of the artists involved in the construction of the doors and will also facilitate the association of doors with specific artists. Furthermore, the date of construction will be verified by combined dendrochronological and radiocarbon analyses. These analyses will provide a holistic picture of the state of preservation of the doors and insights into historical conservation work. All new data obtained during the project will be made fully available to the public via open access publications and online repositories of the host institution.
Gates to Paradise: Creating metal doors for 11th-12th century churches 