Who Created This Sculpture? A New 3D Method for Sculpture Attribution

The authorship of sculptures is often difficult to determine due to the lack of documentary sources. In such cases, attribution relies on formal and stylistic analysis, which depends on the researcher’s interpretation and cannot be fully verified.

A new quantitative method addresses this problem through the structured analysis of facial form in 3D models of sculptures (SSA–3D). Anatomical reference points are defined and used to calculate morphometric indicators. These indicators are analysed statistically, enabling a verifiable comparison between sculptures.

The method identifies works by the same sculptor and distinguishes works created by others. It provides a reproducible and verifiable approach that can be used to test previous attributions and identify groups of works even when the sculptor’s name is unknown.

The method can also be applied in restoration. Before physically reconstructing missing facial fragments, a proposed reconstruction can first be created as a 3D model and tested against the artistic hand identified in other works by the same sculptor. This makes it possible to assess whether the reconstructed form is consistent with the sculptor’s characteristic way of modelling before any irreversible intervention is made to the original object.