The archaeodendrometric study was carried out on a painted panel representing the Holy Family, truncated on either side of the Virgin; the residual panel is 16.0 cm wide and 42 cm high. Clear signs of cutting can be seen on the left and right edges, which have chamfered edges on two sides, and on the lower section of the panel, where the light-coloured skin shows that the original patina has been removed by cutting (still present on the upper section of the panel). The underside of the panel, which shows distinct traces of tooling and practices associated with grading the wood after cutting, shows that it has not been split or re-cut to its original thickness of 8 mm.

The results of the study show that the oak used was certainly felled after 1484, and possibly during the 1510/1520 period. The board was cut by radial splitting, as was frequently practised since the end of the Middle Ages to obtain fine boards with straight fibres, free from major defects and particularly suitable for the design of painted panels.

Collaboration : Marie et Florent Dubost, Atelier de la Feuille d’Or, 173 rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine – Paris (11^e)