Headless statue restored with 3D-printed head

A decapitated statuette of Treasure Island author Robert Louis Stevenson has been finished as part of an exhibition of portrait busts.

The 2ft (60cm) tall figurine had lain headless and unidentified in the University of Leeds archives until a project to scan part the collection was carried out.

Scans revealed the signature of sculptor David Watson Stevenson on the underside of the statuette, helping curators link it with a complete bronze of Robert Louis Stevenson at Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

Now, with a new 3D-printed head, the statuette has gone on display as part of an exhibition celebrating 10 years of the Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery.

David Watson Stevenson is best known for creating the figure of William Wallace on the Wallace Monument in Stirling and Mary, Queen of Scots, and James VI on the Scott Monument in Edinburgh. He is no relation of Robert Louis Stevenson.

The curators also 3D printed miniature versions of many of the other busts on display at the University - each with a slight twist.

Wade said: "We hope that making the miniature 3D prints in green glow in the dark filament it might remove some of the barriers to connecting with these objects from the past.

"We hope that they become a little more approachable, a bit more fun," said curator Dr RJ Wade.

Wade said one of the aims of the exhibition was to highlight the absences and lack of diversity in the museum's collection.

"I arrived at the University of Leeds as a student in 2003. And so I was walking around campus as a fine art student looking at the sculpture around me and I was wondering who these people were, why are they taking up space here, when did they arrive, what do they mean now," said Wade.

"One of the things we've done is to interrogate our collection for how it represents minoritised groups."

The exhibition features busts of Einstein, Roman emperor Augustus and 18th-century prime minister William Pitt the Younger, as well as some of the university's famous faces.

"When our visitors arrive, they'll be greeted by two bronze figures. One of them is Lord Brotherton - he gives us the name of our library and gallery here - and his niece-in-law, Dorothy Una Ratcliffe," Wade said.

"These two figures are by the same sculptor, Ivan Meštrović.

"Dorothy usually lives at Leeds City Museum so we're really glad that she's come on holiday to see us and they're reunited for the first time in more than 70 years."

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