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Dendrochronology

The dating and geographical origin of wooden works of art

Scientific research methods play an important part in the dating of artworks. Dendrochronology, a dating method that measures the growth rings pattern that can be recognized in the object, is used to date furniture, panel paintings, wooden sculpture and ship models, and also provides information about the geographical origin of the wood.

About the project

The Rijksmuseum uses dendrochronology to date the oak of works of art. This involves measuring the annual growth rings. The width of a ring depends on the climate in that year. Successive growth rings provide a record of the climate in a particular period in the region where the tree grew. By consulting reference calendars, it is then possible to determine where and when the tree of which the object was made grew.

Aim of the project

The aim of the project is to gather information about the date and geographical origin of the wood that was used to make items of furniture, panel paintings, sculpted objects and ship models. The Woods for Goods project will be investigating 500 wooden historical and art-historical objects in close collaboration with conservators and by using the scanning methodologies of the related IMPACT4ART project. This large number of objects will not only establish the date but also a more precise geographical location of the oak used to produce the objects. Linkage to the traces left by the tools used in the production and processing of wood will provide scientific corroboration for the date, origin and attribution of objects of art and history.

Staff

Marta Domínguez-Delmás
Guest Researcher
m.dominguez.delmas@rijksmuseum.nl

Paul van Duin
Head of Furniture Conservation
p.van.duin@rijksmuseum.nl

Jan Dorscheid
Furniture Conservator
j.dorscheid@rijksmuseum.nl

Francien Bossema
Researcher at CWI
f.bossema@cwi.nl

Bieke van der Mark
Scientific Staff Member
b.vander.mark@rijksmuseum.nl

Erma Hermens
Technical Art Historian
e.hermens@rijksmuseum.nl

Partners and sponsors

The Wood for Goods project is funded by NWO with a VENI grant. The project is carried out by Marta Dominguez-Delmás. She conducts the research at the University of Amsterdam with an appointment at the Rijksmuseum as a guest researcher.

  • University of Amsterdam
  • Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica
  • Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO)
  • Netherlands Insititute for Conservation, Art and Science (NICAS)

Related projects

Publications

Nederlandse eikenhouten buffetkast Nederlandse eikenhouten buffetkast

Dutch oak sideboard c 1610-1640, BK-NM-2543.

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Zichtbare jaarringen Zichtbare jaarringen

Visible annual rings on the side and bottom of the drawer of the sideboard.

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Eiken planken uit 1607 Eiken planken uit 1607

The oak planks of this 1607 cabinet come from the Baltic region, BK-16071.

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When did this kiss start? Oak statues can also be dated, BK-NM-88.

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Zoeken naar jaarringen Zoeken naar jaarringen

The annual rings are often visible at the bottom of a sculpture, BK-16383.

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The annual ring pattern is analyzed with high resolution and specialized software, bottom sculpture BK-NM-2476.

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The annual ring pattern is visible on the side of this half-model, NG-MC-314.

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Het eikenhout uit deze vier modellen komt van dezelfde boom. Het eikenhout uit deze vier modellen komt van dezelfde boom.

The oak of the backboards of these four halfmodels comes from the same tree.

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The oak wood of this plinth was cut before 1700 and comes from Southern Germany, BK-2016-102-2.

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Images