ABSTRACT

This paper proposes a critical analysis of the re-assembling of a stone statue representing Venus with a dolphin, from the historical collections of the Museum of Antiquities in Turin. The sculpture is composed of four parts: a torso dating back to the Imperial age and one arm, the base and the head, added in a restoration intervention of the Seventeenth century that aimed at completing the female body modelled on the Medici’s Venus. The preliminary studies dedicated to the evaluation of the conservation status of the different parts are presented. An innovative approach based on the use of advanced techniques in the field of cultural heritage (FEM, laser scanners and photogrammetry, 3D printing, ultrasonic and petrographic analyses) has been used. The study led to the design of the final restoration intervention and has allowed not only to simulate the different alternative hypotheses but also to assess their feasibility without mobilizing the statue. The sculpture, for its complex conservation history, encourages a general reflection on the restoration and its main stages, from the inclination towards the completions that spread from the Renaissance, to a trend reversal at the end of the last century, when the tendency of de-restoration spread in the museums and affected entire collections, including the one in Turin. This case raised therefore the question on whether or not recover a condition maintained for centuries, versus maintaining the state of the fragments. Parole chiave/Key-words: statue, FEM, 3D, ultrasonic analyses, re-assembly