History of the Western Stalls in the Church of Blessed Virgin Mary in Toruń in the Light of Recent Research and Conservation Work

Abstract

The author attempts a preliminary stratification of the set of choir stalls in the former Franciscan church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Toruń, using methods of structural analysis supported by non-destructive testing (NIR) and dendrochronology. The paper is focused on one fragment of the stalls – the seats, probably moved in the 17^th century from the chancel to the last bay of the nave, close to the western portal. These pieces of medieval furniture (formerly probably a single unit belonging to the ensemble in the choir), were extended here with parapets and technically adapted to the requirements of the new location, where they were visually harmonized with the western balcony built at the same time. During the Bernardine period, the stalls  aesthetics have been  readapted to the changes in the balcony (they were decorated with a rocaille ornament, no longer visible today). In this way, the stalls gained a “new life” in their new location. They reflect the confessional and functional transformation of the church. The author devotes particular attention to two ideological threads: the iconographic content of the Gothic pew-end with scenes from Aesop’s fables and the story of Reynart the fox, which were uncovered after almost a century in 2021, and – authenticated thanks to infrared – the Bernardine meditative sentences on the parapets, later painted over. These discoveries were made possible thanks to research conducted within the “Art Inventory of Toruń” project and the preliminary conservation-restoration works of the north section in 2022. The conservation work on the western stalls continues and this text is a proposal for the reconstruction of the object’s history that may be supplemented or modified in the future.