KMKG, Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en Geschiedenis (Royal Museums of Art and History), Belgium participated in 3D-ICONS as a content provider
The KMKG foundation is a scientific research institute that functions under the Federal Belgian Science Policy. It has the governmental responsibility over a number of museums with the task to define their overall philosophy and fundamental mission, namely: the preservation and management of the collections by further developing the central collection database, the improvement of the digital object descriptions by using standards, the service to public and researchers by providing digital information on the collections, a close cooperation between several scientific institutions on a national and international level by exchanging digital data. KMKG has been involved in the Athena project and its predecessors. KMKG is leads WP in Linked Heritage and MIMO. KMKG is developing an aggregator service for the Belgian federal cultural institutes.
With reference to 3D-ICONS: KMKG holds one of the largest 19th century collections of moulds for plaster casts in Europe. These moulds were created from culturally important sites or objects. The plaster casts of these moulds, copies of the original, were put on display on several locations simultaneously. They were more easily transported, had less need for conservation etc.
The 3D digitisation of the moulds recreates and re-enacts the process digitally. The digital copies can be distributed, be part of virtual collections and end reduce handling. Moreover, The casts of moulds which are deformed, damaged, incomplete or otherwise unsuitable for traditional casting can be digitised relatively easy.