This study day, organised by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (IRPA-KIK), the University of Namur, the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Royal Museums for Art and History (MRAH-KMKG), is part of the series of scientific meetings started by the research group AcanthuM (University of Namur) on the theme of construction finishings and fittings. The present meeting will focus on joinery elements in architecture from the Middle Ages and modern period.

This study day, organised by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (IRPA-KIK), the University of Namur, the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the Royal Museums for Art and History (MRAH-KMKG), is part of the series of scientific meetings started by the research group AcanthuM (University of Namur) on the theme of construction finishings and fittings. The present meeting will focus on joinery elements in architecture from the Middle Ages and modern period that contribute to the organization of the interior workings of a building and division of space through the layout of doorways and window openings, as well as playing a part in the interior decoration. Wooden floors and ceilings, shutters and frames, doors and panelling will be the subject of an interdisciplinary session combining archaeology, art history, the history of techniques and engineering, economic, social and environmental history and archaeometry.

We will also take into consideration the statutes and working practices of the different trades in a given historical context. The division of work between the carpenter and the joiner will be reassessed, according to region and period, by comparing known documents with archaeological analysis, set in a broader epistemological perspective free of the sometimes disputable categories of “structure” and “finishings and fittings” of a building.

Program

FRIDAY 29th NOVEMBER 2013

8.30 Participants welcome

9.00 Welcome by Mrs C. Ceulemans, acting general director of IRPA-KIK (B).

Presentation of the AcanthuM cycle of conferences, M. Piavaux, University of Namur (B).

Introduction to the study day: from works of art to joinery, from joinery to carpentry: the tree-ring story at the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, P. Fraiture, IRPA-KIK (B).

• 9.40 Ceilings and floorings – city versus rural buildings in Austria: type, date and wood species, M. Grabner, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences – BOKU, Vienna (AUT).
• 10.00 Evolution in floor structures serving as ceiling in Provencal architecture (France) between 14th and 16th centuries. E. Bouticourt, University of Paris 1/Lamop CS-Archéologie (F).
• 10.20 “Foot put to the floor”: an approach to wood flooring in Brussels private houses from 16th to 18^th centuries, P. Sosnowska, University of Brussels (B).

10.40 Questions – discussion

11.00 Coffee break

• 11.20 New light on an old staircase: making the Boijmans van Beuningen staircase (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), A. Grochowska, University of Leiden (NL).
• 11.40 Disputes between carpenters and joiners on authority in Antwerp (Belgium) from 15th to 18^th century, J. van Damme, Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen (B).
• 12.00 Indoor joinery and furniture made for 18th century houses in Liège (Belgium), I. Gilles, University of Liège (B).
• 12.20 Serial analysis of joinery elements in Montréal (Canada), 1650-1750, P.-E. Latouche, University of Québec, Montréal (CA).

12.40 Questions – discussion

13.00 Lunch

• 14.00 Analyses of wooden front doors in rural buildings (Austria), S. Nemestothy, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences – BOKU, Vienna (AUT).
• 14.20 Doors with wooden nails: an armorican model (France) inherited from the Middle Ages? V. Bernard, CNRS, UMR 6566 CReAAH, University of Rennes 1 (F).
• 14.40 The collection of window frames of the Royal Museums of Art and History (Inv. 3079). First archaeological approach and perspectives, P. Gautier, MRAH-KMKG (B), V. Montens, MRAH-KMKG (B), P. Fraiture (IRPA-KIK).
• 15.00 Impermeability to water of window sills: a simple system but a difficult gestation, A. Tiercelin, Direction régionale des Affaires culturelles de Basse- Normandie (F).

15.20 Questions – discussion.

15.40 Coffee break

• 16.00 Investigation of 15-16th century ceilings, floors and staircases in Leuven (Belgium), J. Grootaers, Erfgoedexpertise (B).
• 16.20 Wooden witnesses: Romanesque joinery and other compelling wooden elements or their negatives divulging historical secrets of St. Martin’s Church, Zaventem (Belgium), K. Keutgens, Ghent University/Viering bvba, Lier (B), B. Delmotte, B.J. Delmotte bvba, Antwerp (B) and C. Indekeu, University of Antwerp (B).
• 16.40 New windows in historical buildings in Poland, D. Maczynski, National Heritage Board of Poland (PL).

17.00 Closing discussion

18.00–19.30 Drink

SATURDAY 30th NOVEMBER 2013

Visit of the Rouge Cloître site at Auderghem (Brussels)

9.30 Welcome – coffee

10.00 Visit

ORGANISING COMMITTEE

• Sarah Crémer, Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (IRPA-KIK)
• Pascale Fraiture (IRPA-KIK)
• Patrice Gautier, Royal Museums of Art and History (MRAH-KMKG)
• Mathieu Piavaux, University of Namur (UNamur)
• Philippe Sosnowska, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
• Michel de Waha (ULB)

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

• Anna Bergmans, Ghent University
• Sarah Crémer (IRPA-KIK)
• Pascale Fraiture (IRPA-KIK)
• Patrice Gautier (MRAH-KMKG)
• Patrick Hoffsummer, University of Liège
• Charles Indekeu, Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp
• Isabelle Parmentier (UNamur)
• Mathieu Piavaux (UNamur)
• Philippe Sosnowska (ULB)