Conservation Project: Väggbonad Murals

The Duxbury Art Complex Museum presents Conservation Project: Väggbonad Murals May 9 – August 29, 2027 Painted by local or itinerant artists, these brightly colored murals were custom made to commemorate family events such as a birth or marriage, but most depicted scenes of village and farm life or Biblical stories. Stylistically, the murals in the Art Complex Museum’s collection are similar in design to early to mid-19th century Swedish Väggbonads. The substrates are usually linen, cotton or paper, stitched together to create varying lengths. Typically painted in tempera, each mural has a border at the top with a legend written in script. Learn about how these murals were recently conserved by Museum Textile Services, Andover, Massachusetts. They returned to the museum after spending a year in the conservation lab for “spa” treatment. The museum’s murals illustrate two Biblical passages and include stylized figures wearing brightly colored traditional 18th-century Swedish costumes. Some play musical instruments, ride horses or sit in a carriage: Mural A: Joseph and His Brothers-depicts Genesis:37-50. Joseph, most beloved of Jacob’s sons, is hated by his envious brothers. Mural B: Marriage of Cana-depicts John 2:1-11, the story of Christ’s first public miracle, performed at a wedding feast in the village of Cana.