A Masterly Hand / Scientia Artis 9

175 Pascale Fraiture 8 174 Conclusion The two-year project devoted to the study of the so-called Master of Elsloo comprised the dendrochronological analysis of more than fifty sculptures. While collaboration with art historian and restorer colleagues in this project had many advantages, the difficulties in the tree-ring analysis itself were numerous. These were mainly due to the often poor dendrochronological qual- ity of the trees used. Young, irregularly grown and often complacent, most do not contain a strong climatic signal. This led to 40% of the works remaining undated and also to obstacles in the provenance research at a local level. Even so, the results presented in this paper represent a real achievement, which is due not only to the development of innovative and powerful dendrochrono- logical tools and the extension of regional databases but also to the large num- ber of sculptures that could be analysed. Based on the tree-ring research the Elsloo group can be dated between the late-fifteenth century (after 1488) and the middle of the sixteenth century at the most recent. Significant variation in the number of sapwood rings from one tree to another precludes a more precise limitation of the period of activity, even though several indices reveal a maximal exploitation of the wood and an absence of seasoning time. In terms of wood selection, important differences in the ages of individual trees have been noted, the dendrochronological sequences ranging from nineteen to one hundred and thirty-one rings. The growth rate also varies greatly from one individual to another: some sculptures are typical of trees with extremely rapid growth (more than 4 mm of growth in an average year), while others show a slow or even very slow rate (sometimes less than 1 mm in an average year). Most show a rather irregular growth, with many knots indicating the presence of branches low on the trunk, characteristics of trees that have grown in isolation or in open forest, where conditions are very ­ different from the dense primitive Baltic forests. In terms of wood provenance, dendrochronology has identified three dis- tinct groups. These contain sculptures which belong to the same iconographic ensemble (Ellikom apostles) or not (Utrecht and Siersdorf), and sculptures which show strong stylistic similarities (Siersdorf and Neeroeteren), as well as others that differ in style (Ellikom and Neeroeteren). The high correlations between the ring series within these groups, which are interpreted as similari- ties in tree provenance, seem to suggest that if several workshops have been at work, they all used the same procurement network. Regarding these geographic provenances, different procurement zones have been distinguished. The small altarpiece from Eisden, made of wide planks, represents an exception in all the works studied in the project, though for reasons of style it was excluded from the Elsloo group. It is the only work sculpted in oak from the eastern Baltic coastal region. On the other hand, the group of seven Ellikom and three Neeroeteren apostles proved to be sculpted from oaks from the Maastricht region, the smaller size of the sculptures having allowed the use of young, locally available trees. The map of the results given by the group which includes sculptures from different places may suggest an imported supply, either from the Meuse basin upstream from Maastricht or