Protecting cultural property often consists in making one copy, in order to keep the original in the best conditions possible: this is the case of a wooden Christ mutilated in some of its parts.

Reproduction of a wooden Christ with full-color 3D printing. The differences compared to the original are substantially imperceptible.

The process has seen the coincidence of more operating steps: the structured light 3D scanning of the original artifact, the optimization of the acquired geometry and the high detail full-color 3D printing. The result was subjected to careful post production operation, to refine all the details and make the replication  virtually identical to the original model.

The 3D scanning step of the original artifact. The presence of a highly skilled operator is vital to acquired the most useful data to be used for the reconstruction of the 3D digital model.

Study of the possible optimization of the acquired 3D model.

360° reconnaissance of the optimized mesh. The picture omits references to the material to be able to better appreciate  the details found on the geometry.

Final model obtain with high detail full-color 3D printing and treated with a post-production process for the specific goal to be achieved.

Subsequently, in agreement with the customer, it has been proposed a creative intervention of digital restoration.

The suggestion is derived from the significant gaps of the original artifact, mutilated in all the arts. The proposal has seen the integration of the missing parts with some cybernetic jointed extensions. An intentionally disruptive concept compared to traditional methods of restoration and to minimal intervention criteria, with the aim of emphasizing an interpretation directed to make a valuable historical artifact an object that returns to live in his own artistic regeneration.

The entire model after the cybernetic “prosthesis” applied, also obtained by 3D printing.

Some details of the creative restoration of the wooden Christ.