355 Evoking the divine: A golden thirteenth century frontal from Komnes in Norway Kaja Kollandsrud Introduction he sculpted frontal made in polychromed oak measures 105 x 178 x 5.5 cm. Based on the construction and size it is gener- ally agreed that it once served as an altar frontal (Fig. 1).1 he provenance is the parish church of Komnes, Buskerud in Nor- way. he frontal came in to the collections of KHM in 1863, and the medieval stave church of Komnes was replaced by a church in the new gothic style in 1881.2 he irst technical examination of the Komnes frontal was carried out by conservator Nadine Huth in 2004 at Kulturhis- torisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo (KHM) (the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo).3 he present state of the polychromy is characterized by a dull mat grey, red and yellow over-paint, suggested dating to the eighteenth century. Huth’s examination made new information on the frontals original creation and polychromy available for the irst time. his ar- ticle will bring the discussion further on the original appear- ance and the intention of the maker(s) of this sculpted panel by looking into its original polychromy, which appearance made use of efects seen in metalworking and goldsmithing at the time. he similarities of the Komnes frontal to works in metal and the connection to thirteenth-century sculpture taber- nacles in Finland was already pointed out by Meinander in 1908, who’s later work makes further connections to other Norwegian works.4 Stylistically the frontal from Berg in Swe- den is similar. Morgan has pointed out that they are wooden equivalents of the iconographic themes of gilded altar frontals of c. 1120-1250 from churches in Germany, Denmark, Swe- den and Schleswig-Holstein.5 Although close in iconography and composition, the diferences between the frontals from Komnes and Berg are so great that it does not make it likely that they have been performed in the same workshop.6 he details in the wooden carving that connects this re- lief frontal to other sculpture tabernaclea and metal artefacts will be highlighted, such as elements of the architectural build up, the diaper patern in the background and the twisted pro- iles that resemble worked metal, its characteristics indicated already in the woodcarving and inally in the polychromy. However, there are limits to how far one can draw stylistic conclusions as long as in-depth study of the construction and materials involved in the related objects are lacking. he phenomenon of skeuomorphism will be looked into, as one path to understand how such a work of imitation and de- ception could be accepted as a high status iconic representa- tion in the middle ages, by looking into how it may have been perceived at the time. Importance of the Komnes Frontal he frontal from Komnes is one out of two polychrome wood- en sculpted altar frontals that has survived in Norway.7 he frontal from Vilnes difers from Komnes in style. In Sweden there is one remaining wooden sculpture altar frontal from Berg (Småland) of c. 1250-75 (Fig. 2). he sculpted fron- tals difer from one another and from the group of 31 panel frontals believed to be produced in Norway from the period 1250-1350.8 he special features of the Komnes frontal, such as the carved diaper-paterned background and the registers with relief sculpture under colonnaded trefoil arches on each side of a central scene, links it to a limited group of objects. At irst glance the Swedish frontal from Berg (Fig. 2) looks simi- lar in format and architectural build up, but a closer inspection reveals a substantial diference both in construction and style. Berg is more systematic in its construction. he diaper pat- tern is created by carving four adjacent faceted lozenges into the wooden surface, as opposed to the frontal from Komnes where the lozenges protrude from the surface as the lines be- tween the lozenges are cut down into the wood. Unlike the carvings of the Komnes frontal, where the vegetative traceries in the spandrels are not cut through, the traceries in the fron- tal from Berg are fretwork. Unfortunately there are hardly any remaining traces of original polychromy on the frontal from Berg,9 but one could expect to ind a solid golden appearing original also here. he two frontals are too diferent to come