Join us to learn about the reconstruction of lost faces in the medieval west choir windows at Naumburg Cathedral, Germany.
Emily Yates will present the case study as a fascinating example for exploring identity and integrity in conservation, particularly where no archival evidence is available.
The conservation of stained glass windows today often involves the treatment of past restorative interventions. In some cases, the decisions made and measures implemented during previous restorations no longer align with current thinking in terms of ethics and the assignment of cultural values.
In the early gothic west choir of Naumburg Cathedral in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, eight lost faces from the monumental figurative window scheme were replaced with featureless, neutrally toned “Cloud Heads” as a result of two conservation campaigns carried out in the 1940s and 1960s. Since there was no direct evidence of the lost medieval heads available, the neutral inserts were intended to fill the gaps in the figures sympathetically, without deception or conjecture about their original appearance. However, the conflicting viewpoints surrounding these iconographic gaps prompted a re-examination of the aesthetic, spiritual, and communal value of one of Germany's most remarkable medieval glazing schemes.
As part of the cathedral's most recent stained glass conservation project, which was completed in 2020, the eight missing faces were reconstructed using the technical and stylistic evidence still remaining in the medieval windows. Emily Yates presents the process as a case study for exploring identity and integrity in conservation, particularly where no archival evidence is available.
