{"id":"linked-art/api/shared-relationships","relativePath":"linked-art/api/shared-relationships.md","title":"Linked Art API: Shared Relationships","markdown":"# Linked Art API: Shared Relationships\n\n**Last refreshed:** 2026-07-06\n\nSource: [Relationships shared structure](https://linked.art/api/1.0/shared/assignment/), part of Linked Art API 1.0, published under [CC BY 4.0](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is a project summary; the upstream page is authoritative.\n\n## Purpose\n\nRelationship assignments model direct asserted relationships between entities when the relationship is arbitrary, curatorial, uncertain, or otherwise not worth expanding into a more specific semantic activity. Linked Art uses `AttributeAssignment` for this pattern.\n\nThe `assigned` property points to the related entity or entities. The optional `assigned_property` can identify the relationship predicate when the relationship type is known.\n\n## Required Shape\n\nA relationship assignment structure includes:\n\n- `type`: required. Must be `AttributeAssignment`.\n- `assigned`: required. Array of references to the related entity or entities. Linked Art notes that this should not be used for `Dimension` or `Identifier` assignments.\n\n## Recommended Fields\n\n- `_label`: developer-facing label.\n- `identified_by`: names or identifiers for the assignment, following the `Name` or `Identifier` pattern.\n- `classified_as`: classifications following the `Type` structure.\n\n## Optional Fields\n\n- `id`: URI identifying the assignment.\n- `_complete`: completeness signal. If the `id` URI has richer dereferenceable information, `_complete: false` must be present.\n- `referred_to_by`: embedded statements about the assignment.\n- `carried_out_by`: `Person` or `Group` references for the actor who made the assignment.\n- `timespan`: when the relationship was assigned, following the `TimeSpan` pattern.\n- `during`: `Period` references during which the assignment occurred.\n- `before`: `Period`, `Event`, or `Activity` references before which the assignment occurred.\n- `after`: `Period`, `Event`, or `Activity` references after which the assignment occurred.\n- `influenced_by`: entities that influenced or motivated the assignment.\n- `caused_by`: `Event` references that caused the assignment.\n- `used_specific_object`: resources instrumental in making the assignment, such as source documents or tools.\n- `technique`: `Type` references for techniques used in the assignment.\n- `assigned_property`: URI or context-resolvable term identifying the predicate between the main entity and `assigned` entity.\n\n## Common Incoming Relationships\n\n- `attributed_by`: any endpoint can use relationship assignments to record asserted relationships for the entity.\n- `assigned_by`: `Dimension` and `Identifier` structures can use this to record assignment evidence.\n\n## Meta Museum Notes\n\nMeta Museum already has strong proof for complex `AttributeAssignment` preservation through `/api/records/{id}`. Current coverage includes `assigned_property`, `assigned`, `timespan`, source/citation `used_specific_object`, contextual `caused_by`, uncertain production assignments, embedded `Identifier` and `Name` `assigned_by` provenance, AI statement creation technique/tool metadata, statement-level rights, and generic related-entity display labels.\n\nThis page closes the API-reference side of the same pattern: relationship assertions should remain explicit Linked Art structures, not flattened into display-only text or silently promoted into stronger semantic claims.\n\n## Test Ideas\n\n- Preserve object-level `attributed_by` assignments with `assigned` and `assigned_property`.\n- Preserve `carried_out_by`, `timespan`, `caused_by`, `influenced_by`, and `used_specific_object` on relationship assignments.\n- Preserve `assigned_by` on embedded `Dimension` and `Identifier` structures.\n- Preserve `_complete: false` when a dereferenceable assignment URI has richer detail elsewhere.\n- Verify arbitrary related-object recommendations stay as `AttributeAssignment` and do not overwrite canonical object fields.\n","sections":[{"level":2,"heading":"Purpose","anchor":"purpose"},{"level":2,"heading":"Required Shape","anchor":"required-shape"},{"level":2,"heading":"Recommended Fields","anchor":"recommended-fields"},{"level":2,"heading":"Optional Fields","anchor":"optional-fields"},{"level":2,"heading":"Common Incoming Relationships","anchor":"common-incoming-relationships"},{"level":2,"heading":"Meta Museum Notes","anchor":"meta-museum-notes"},{"level":2,"heading":"Test Ideas","anchor":"test-ideas"}],"html":"<h1 id=\"linked-art-api-shared-relationships\">Linked Art API: Shared Relationships</h1>\n<p><strong>Last refreshed:</strong> 2026-07-06</p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https://linked.art/api/1.0/shared/assignment/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"doc-link\">Relationships shared structure</a>, part of Linked Art API 1.0, published under <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"doc-link\">CC BY 4.0</a>. This is a project summary; the upstream page is authoritative.</p>\n<h2 id=\"purpose\">Purpose</h2>\n<p>Relationship assignments model direct asserted relationships between entities when the relationship is arbitrary, curatorial, uncertain, or otherwise not worth expanding into a more specific semantic activity. Linked Art uses `AttributeAssignment` for this pattern.</p>\n<p>The `assigned` property points to the related entity or entities. The optional `assigned_property` can identify the relationship predicate when the relationship type is known.</p>\n<h2 id=\"required-shape\">Required Shape</h2>\n<p>A relationship assignment structure includes:</p>\n<ul><li>`type`: required. Must be `AttributeAssignment`.</li><li>`assigned`: required. Array of references to the related entity or entities. Linked Art notes that this should not be used for `Dimension` or `Identifier` assignments.</li></ul>\n<h2 id=\"recommended-fields\">Recommended Fields</h2>\n<ul><li>`_label`: developer-facing label.</li><li>`identified_by`: names or identifiers for the assignment, following the `Name` or `Identifier` pattern.</li><li>`classified_as`: classifications following the `Type` structure.</li></ul>\n<h2 id=\"optional-fields\">Optional Fields</h2>\n<ul><li>`id`: URI identifying the assignment.</li><li>`_complete`: completeness signal. If the `id` URI has richer dereferenceable information, `_complete: false` must be present.</li><li>`referred_to_by`: embedded statements about the assignment.</li><li>`carried_out_by`: `Person` or `Group` references for the actor who made the assignment.</li><li>`timespan`: when the relationship was assigned, following the `TimeSpan` pattern.</li><li>`during`: `Period` references during which the assignment occurred.</li><li>`before`: `Period`, `Event`, or `Activity` references before which the assignment occurred.</li><li>`after`: `Period`, `Event`, or `Activity` references after which the assignment occurred.</li><li>`influenced_by`: entities that influenced or motivated the assignment.</li><li>`caused_by`: `Event` references that caused the assignment.</li><li>`used_specific_object`: resources instrumental in making the assignment, such as source documents or tools.</li><li>`technique`: `Type` references for techniques used in the assignment.</li><li>`assigned_property`: URI or context-resolvable term identifying the predicate between the main entity and `assigned` entity.</li></ul>\n<h2 id=\"common-incoming-relationships\">Common Incoming Relationships</h2>\n<ul><li>`attributed_by`: any endpoint can use relationship assignments to record asserted relationships for the entity.</li><li>`assigned_by`: `Dimension` and `Identifier` structures can use this to record assignment evidence.</li></ul>\n<h2 id=\"meta-museum-notes\">Meta Museum Notes</h2>\n<p>Meta Museum already has strong proof for complex `AttributeAssignment` preservation through `/api/records/{id}`. Current coverage includes `assigned_property`, `assigned`, `timespan`, source/citation `used_specific_object`, contextual `caused_by`, uncertain production assignments, embedded `Identifier` and `Name` `assigned_by` provenance, AI statement creation technique/tool metadata, statement-level rights, and generic related-entity display labels.</p>\n<p>This page closes the API-reference side of the same pattern: relationship assertions should remain explicit Linked Art structures, not flattened into display-only text or silently promoted into stronger semantic claims.</p>\n<h2 id=\"test-ideas\">Test Ideas</h2>\n<ul><li>Preserve object-level `attributed_by` assignments with `assigned` and `assigned_property`.</li><li>Preserve `carried_out_by`, `timespan`, `caused_by`, `influenced_by`, and `used_specific_object` on relationship assignments.</li><li>Preserve `assigned_by` on embedded `Dimension` and `Identifier` structures.</li><li>Preserve `_complete: false` when a dereferenceable assignment URI has richer detail elsewhere.</li><li>Verify arbitrary related-object recommendations stay as `AttributeAssignment` and do not overwrite canonical object fields.</li></ul>","updatedAt":"2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z","checksum":"af011a27832c0dfe86dfb4bf0472bb1f9c1dff93682283c19a20c36bf7e30340","checksumPrefix":"af011a27832c","anchorCount":7,"lineCount":60,"rawUrl":"/api/docs/content?path=linked-art%2Fapi%2Fshared-relationships.md","htmlUrl":"/docs?doc=linked-art%2Fapi%2Fshared-relationships.md","apiUrl":"/api/docs/content?path=linked-art%2Fapi%2Fshared-relationships.md"}