{"id":"linked-art/api/cdwa-mapping","relativePath":"linked-art/api/cdwa-mapping.md","title":"Linked Art: CDWA Mapping","markdown":"# Linked Art: CDWA Mapping\n\n**Last refreshed:** 2026-07-06\n\nSource: Linked Art CDWA mapping notes supplied for project reference. This is a project summary; the Getty CDWA guidance and upstream Linked Art mapping notes remain authoritative.\n\n## Purpose\n\nCategories for the Description of Works of Art (CDWA) is a Getty cataloging framework for art and architecture. The Linked Art CDWA mapping explains how CDWA fields translate into Linked Art records, properties, embedded structures, activities, authority records, and explicit non-mappings.\n\nFor Meta Museum, this page is a high-value crosswalk: it helps importer, mapper, evaluator, and data-cleaning work explain how traditional cataloging fields become Linked Art JSON-LD without flattening object, activity, authority, provenance, textual, visual, and rights semantics.\n\n## Recurring Patterns\n\nSeveral CDWA field families repeat throughout the mapping:\n\n- Remarks and descriptions generally become `referred_to_by` `LinguisticObject`/Statement structures.\n- Citations become either `about` relationships from a citing `LinguisticObject` or citation Statements on the described entity.\n- Earliest and latest date fields map to `TimeSpan.begin_of_the_begin` and `TimeSpan.end_of_the_end`.\n- Names, titles, labels, and authority terms usually map to `identified_by` with `Name` or `Identifier` structures.\n- Preference, display, type, role, and qualifier flags usually map to `classified_as` on the relevant structure when Linked Art can express them honestly.\n- Source-specific cataloging metadata and other meta-meta-data is often not mapped into Linked Art description records.\n- Phase-like temporal states are often marked not mapped unless modeled through a specific activity or assignment pattern.\n\n## Object And Description Fields\n\nCore object/work fields map to the object record:\n\n- Object/work type and classification terms map to `classified_as`.\n- Component/part hierarchy maps from the component to the parent with `part_of`; component quantity can be a `Dimension`.\n- Titles map to `identified_by[type=Name]/content`, with title type, preference, and language on the `Name`; title date can be expressed through an `assigned_by` `AttributeAssignment`.\n- Creation maps to `produced_by`, including creator actors in `carried_out_by`, creation dates in `timespan`, original location in `took_place_at`, and creator statements in `referred_to_by`.\n- Object/work culture, style, period, group, movement, shape, physical-description indexing, and similar controlled classifications generally map to `classified_as`.\n- Dimensions map to `dimension`, with `classified_as`, `value`, `unit`, `assigned_by`, `timespan`, and assignment classification where needed.\n- Materials and techniques map to `made_of`, `technique`, part records, or Statements depending on whether the source describes material, technique, extent, role, or free text.\n- Watermarks, facture, orientation, physical appearance, descriptive notes, provenance notes, credit lines, and copyright statements usually map to `referred_to_by` Statements.\n\n## Activity And Event Fields\n\nCDWA activity-like fields map to Linked Art activities when the source has enough semantic detail:\n\n- Conservation/treatment maps to `modified_by` `Modification`, with treatment type in `classified_as`, actor in `carried_out_by`, date in `timespan`, and place in `took_place_at`.\n- Condition/examination history maps to `attributed_by` `AttributeAssignment`, with examination type, actor, date, and place on the assignment.\n- Archaeological discovery/excavation maps to `encountered_by` `Encounter`, with discovery place in `took_place_at`, excavator in `carried_out_by`, and date in `timespan`.\n- Historical/cultural context can become a `Period`, `Event`, or `Activity`, with type, name/identifier, date, place, actors, and participants modeled directly.\n- Exhibition and loan history maps to exhibition `Activity` records, with title/name in `identified_by`, type in `classified_as`, organizer/curator in activity responsibility or abstract-work creation, venue in `took_place_at`, and exhibition object numbers as `AttributeAssignment` caused by the exhibition.\n- Payments, valuation, acquisition, and ownership transfer evidence map through provenance activities, `Payment`, `MonetaryAmount`, `Acquisition`, and current or historical owner relationships where the source is specific enough.\n\n## Content, Subject, Visual, And Textual Fields\n\nCarrier/content distinctions matter in the CDWA mapping:\n\n- Subject display notes map to Statements; general and specific subject terms map to `about`, `classified_as`, or `represents` depending on whether the target is conceptual, classificatory, or depicted.\n- Inscriptions may remain Statements, but authored inscription content should become a separate `LinguisticObject` carried by the object, with its own `created_by`, `language`, and `timespan`.\n- Critical responses and textual references become `LinguisticObject` records with `about`, `identified_by`, `created_by`, publication `used_for`, and citation Statements.\n- Related visual documentation maps through `representation` to a `VisualItem`, then `digitally_carried_by` to a `DigitalObject`; image maker, date, format, dimensions, depicted works, view descriptions, rights, and repository relationships stay on the appropriate visual, digital, or physical record.\n\n## Authority Fields\n\nCDWA authority records map to Linked Art entity records:\n\n- Person/corporate body authority records map to `Person` or `Group`, with names in `identified_by`, biography in `referred_to_by`, birth/death in `born`/`died`, nationality/culture/gender/life roles in `classified_as` or professional activities, events in `carried_out_by`/`participated_in`, relationships in `AttributeAssignment`, and broader context in `member_of`.\n- Place/location authority records map to `Place`, with names in `identified_by`, coordinates in `defined_by`, place types in `classified_as`, related-place assignments in `AttributeAssignment`, and broader place hierarchy in `part_of`.\n- Generic concept authority records map to concept records, with terms in `identified_by`, term type/preference/display flags in `classified_as`, scope notes in `referred_to_by`, related concepts in `AttributeAssignment`, and broader context in `broader`.\n- Subject authority follows the same pattern as generic concept authority; Linked Art does not require a hard distinction between generic concepts and subjects.\n\n## Explicit Non-Mappings And Cautions\n\nThe CDWA mapping is careful about what Linked Art should not claim:\n\n- Catalog level and cataloging history are meta-meta-data and are generally not mapped.\n- Phase-like facts, such as object/work type date, known states, name dates, ownership dates, broader-context dates, and some historical-location contexts, are not mapped unless a specific activity or assignment is modeled.\n- Some CDWA fields need entities Linked Art does not currently model directly, such as an `Edition` entity, performance-art action support, or a watermark `Feature`.\n- Some source-place, sponsorship, architectural-context, image-source, and contextual cost/value details are not directly mappable without extra modeling decisions.\n- Preference on a referenced classification or broader context is often not mapped because it would require reifying the reference.\n\n## Meta Museum Notes\n\nThis crosswalk reinforces decisions Meta Museum already makes: preserve Statements instead of flattening descriptions, keep names and identifiers structured, model creation/provenance/conservation/exhibition as activities, keep visual content separate from digital carriers, use `AttributeAssignment` when a relationship needs evidence, and avoid inventing Linked Art claims for CDWA fields that are meta-metadata, Phase-like, or unsupported.\n\nUse this note when designing mapper templates, provider normalization rules, evaluator-facing provenance explanations, and import QA checks for cataloging systems whose source shape resembles CDWA.\n\n## Test Ideas\n\n- Keep CDWA-style title, name, identifier, and classification mappings structured instead of display-only.\n- Verify conservation, condition examination, encounter, provenance, and exhibition fields produce activity or assignment structures when supported.\n- Preserve image carrier/content separation for visual documentation.\n- Treat explicit non-mappings as validation warnings or mapper review notes rather than invented Linked Art fields.\n- Ensure authority records for people/groups, places, and concepts preserve their own Linked Art entity classes.\n","sections":[{"level":2,"heading":"Purpose","anchor":"purpose"},{"level":2,"heading":"Recurring Patterns","anchor":"recurring-patterns"},{"level":2,"heading":"Object And Description Fields","anchor":"object-and-description-fields"},{"level":2,"heading":"Activity And Event Fields","anchor":"activity-and-event-fields"},{"level":2,"heading":"Content, Subject, Visual, And Textual Fields","anchor":"content-subject-visual-and-textual-fields"},{"level":2,"heading":"Authority Fields","anchor":"authority-fields"},{"level":2,"heading":"Explicit Non-Mappings And Cautions","anchor":"explicit-non-mappings-and-cautions"},{"level":2,"heading":"Meta Museum Notes","anchor":"meta-museum-notes"},{"level":2,"heading":"Test Ideas","anchor":"test-ideas"}],"html":"<h1 id=\"linked-art-cdwa-mapping\">Linked Art: CDWA Mapping</h1>\n<p><strong>Last refreshed:</strong> 2026-07-06</p>\n<p>Source: Linked Art CDWA mapping notes supplied for project reference. This is a project summary; the Getty CDWA guidance and upstream Linked Art mapping notes remain authoritative.</p>\n<h2 id=\"purpose\">Purpose</h2>\n<p>Categories for the Description of Works of Art (CDWA) is a Getty cataloging framework for art and architecture. The Linked Art CDWA mapping explains how CDWA fields translate into Linked Art records, properties, embedded structures, activities, authority records, and explicit non-mappings.</p>\n<p>For Meta Museum, this page is a high-value crosswalk: it helps importer, mapper, evaluator, and data-cleaning work explain how traditional cataloging fields become Linked Art JSON-LD without flattening object, activity, authority, provenance, textual, visual, and rights semantics.</p>\n<h2 id=\"recurring-patterns\">Recurring Patterns</h2>\n<p>Several CDWA field families repeat throughout the mapping:</p>\n<ul><li>Remarks and descriptions generally become `referred_to_by` `LinguisticObject`/Statement structures.</li><li>Citations become either `about` relationships from a citing `LinguisticObject` or citation Statements on the described entity.</li><li>Earliest and latest date fields map to `TimeSpan.begin_of_the_begin` and `TimeSpan.end_of_the_end`.</li><li>Names, titles, labels, and authority terms usually map to `identified_by` with `Name` or `Identifier` structures.</li><li>Preference, display, type, role, and qualifier flags usually map to `classified_as` on the relevant structure when Linked Art can express them honestly.</li><li>Source-specific cataloging metadata and other meta-meta-data is often not mapped into Linked Art description records.</li><li>Phase-like temporal states are often marked not mapped unless modeled through a specific activity or assignment pattern.</li></ul>\n<h2 id=\"object-and-description-fields\">Object And Description Fields</h2>\n<p>Core object/work fields map to the object record:</p>\n<ul><li>Object/work type and classification terms map to `classified_as`.</li><li>Component/part hierarchy maps from the component to the parent with `part_of`; component quantity can be a `Dimension`.</li><li>Titles map to `identified_by[type=Name]/content`, with title type, preference, and language on the `Name`; title date can be expressed through an `assigned_by` `AttributeAssignment`.</li><li>Creation maps to `produced_by`, including creator actors in `carried_out_by`, creation dates in `timespan`, original location in `took_place_at`, and creator statements in `referred_to_by`.</li><li>Object/work culture, style, period, group, movement, shape, physical-description indexing, and similar controlled classifications generally map to `classified_as`.</li><li>Dimensions map to `dimension`, with `classified_as`, `value`, `unit`, `assigned_by`, `timespan`, and assignment classification where needed.</li><li>Materials and techniques map to `made_of`, `technique`, part records, or Statements depending on whether the source describes material, technique, extent, role, or free text.</li><li>Watermarks, facture, orientation, physical appearance, descriptive notes, provenance notes, credit lines, and copyright statements usually map to `referred_to_by` Statements.</li></ul>\n<h2 id=\"activity-and-event-fields\">Activity And Event Fields</h2>\n<p>CDWA activity-like fields map to Linked Art activities when the source has enough semantic detail:</p>\n<ul><li>Conservation/treatment maps to `modified_by` `Modification`, with treatment type in `classified_as`, actor in `carried_out_by`, date in `timespan`, and place in `took_place_at`.</li><li>Condition/examination history maps to `attributed_by` `AttributeAssignment`, with examination type, actor, date, and place on the assignment.</li><li>Archaeological discovery/excavation maps to `encountered_by` `Encounter`, with discovery place in `took_place_at`, excavator in `carried_out_by`, and date in `timespan`.</li><li>Historical/cultural context can become a `Period`, `Event`, or `Activity`, with type, name/identifier, date, place, actors, and participants modeled directly.</li><li>Exhibition and loan history maps to exhibition `Activity` records, with title/name in `identified_by`, type in `classified_as`, organizer/curator in activity responsibility or abstract-work creation, venue in `took_place_at`, and exhibition object numbers as `AttributeAssignment` caused by the exhibition.</li><li>Payments, valuation, acquisition, and ownership transfer evidence map through provenance activities, `Payment`, `MonetaryAmount`, `Acquisition`, and current or historical owner relationships where the source is specific enough.</li></ul>\n<h2 id=\"content-subject-visual-and-textual-fields\">Content, Subject, Visual, And Textual Fields</h2>\n<p>Carrier/content distinctions matter in the CDWA mapping:</p>\n<ul><li>Subject display notes map to Statements; general and specific subject terms map to `about`, `classified_as`, or `represents` depending on whether the target is conceptual, classificatory, or depicted.</li><li>Inscriptions may remain Statements, but authored inscription content should become a separate `LinguisticObject` carried by the object, with its own `created_by`, `language`, and `timespan`.</li><li>Critical responses and textual references become `LinguisticObject` records with `about`, `identified_by`, `created_by`, publication `used_for`, and citation Statements.</li><li>Related visual documentation maps through `representation` to a `VisualItem`, then `digitally_carried_by` to a `DigitalObject`; image maker, date, format, dimensions, depicted works, view descriptions, rights, and repository relationships stay on the appropriate visual, digital, or physical record.</li></ul>\n<h2 id=\"authority-fields\">Authority Fields</h2>\n<p>CDWA authority records map to Linked Art entity records:</p>\n<ul><li>Person/corporate body authority records map to `Person` or `Group`, with names in `identified_by`, biography in `referred_to_by`, birth/death in `born`/`died`, nationality/culture/gender/life roles in `classified_as` or professional activities, events in `carried_out_by`/`participated_in`, relationships in `AttributeAssignment`, and broader context in `member_of`.</li><li>Place/location authority records map to `Place`, with names in `identified_by`, coordinates in `defined_by`, place types in `classified_as`, related-place assignments in `AttributeAssignment`, and broader place hierarchy in `part_of`.</li><li>Generic concept authority records map to concept records, with terms in `identified_by`, term type/preference/display flags in `classified_as`, scope notes in `referred_to_by`, related concepts in `AttributeAssignment`, and broader context in `broader`.</li><li>Subject authority follows the same pattern as generic concept authority; Linked Art does not require a hard distinction between generic concepts and subjects.</li></ul>\n<h2 id=\"explicit-non-mappings-and-cautions\">Explicit Non-Mappings And Cautions</h2>\n<p>The CDWA mapping is careful about what Linked Art should not claim:</p>\n<ul><li>Catalog level and cataloging history are meta-meta-data and are generally not mapped.</li><li>Phase-like facts, such as object/work type date, known states, name dates, ownership dates, broader-context dates, and some historical-location contexts, are not mapped unless a specific activity or assignment is modeled.</li><li>Some CDWA fields need entities Linked Art does not currently model directly, such as an `Edition` entity, performance-art action support, or a watermark `Feature`.</li><li>Some source-place, sponsorship, architectural-context, image-source, and contextual cost/value details are not directly mappable without extra modeling decisions.</li><li>Preference on a referenced classification or broader context is often not mapped because it would require reifying the reference.</li></ul>\n<h2 id=\"meta-museum-notes\">Meta Museum Notes</h2>\n<p>This crosswalk reinforces decisions Meta Museum already makes: preserve Statements instead of flattening descriptions, keep names and identifiers structured, model creation/provenance/conservation/exhibition as activities, keep visual content separate from digital carriers, use `AttributeAssignment` when a relationship needs evidence, and avoid inventing Linked Art claims for CDWA fields that are meta-metadata, Phase-like, or unsupported.</p>\n<p>Use this note when designing mapper templates, provider normalization rules, evaluator-facing provenance explanations, and import QA checks for cataloging systems whose source shape resembles CDWA.</p>\n<h2 id=\"test-ideas\">Test Ideas</h2>\n<ul><li>Keep CDWA-style title, name, identifier, and classification mappings structured instead of display-only.</li><li>Verify conservation, condition examination, encounter, provenance, and exhibition fields produce activity or assignment structures when supported.</li><li>Preserve image carrier/content separation for visual documentation.</li><li>Treat explicit non-mappings as validation warnings or mapper review notes rather than invented Linked Art fields.</li><li>Ensure authority records for people/groups, places, and concepts preserve their own Linked Art entity classes.</li></ul>","updatedAt":"2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z","checksum":"baaefda0cff6b961e0d42b7eb8a3611711b4f03885115ce20e8354df41dc140b","checksumPrefix":"baaefda0cff6","anchorCount":9,"lineCount":90,"rawUrl":"/api/docs/content?path=linked-art%2Fapi%2Fcdwa-mapping.md","htmlUrl":"/docs?doc=linked-art%2Fapi%2Fcdwa-mapping.md","apiUrl":"/api/docs/content?path=linked-art%2Fapi%2Fcdwa-mapping.md"}