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Canonical Markdown source · Jul 6, 2026

Linked Art API Schema: Set

linked-art/api/schema-set.md · 102 lines · SHA-256 2b48dd1a0cb1

Last refreshed: 2026-07-06

Source: Set schema docs and set.json, part of Linked Art API 1.0, published under CC BY 4.0. This is a project summary; the upstream schema is authoritative.

Purpose

The Set schema describes `la:Set`: a collection of other resources, such as a set of objects, places, concepts, texts, images, archival groupings, auction lots, exhibition object lists, or other aggregations. In Linked Art API terms this is the endpoint shape for collection-like resources where members usually point to the set with `member_of`.

Related upstream references:

Top-Level Constraints

  • Schema type: object.
  • Linked Art class: `la:Set`.
  • Additional top-level properties are not allowed.
  • `@context`: required.
  • `id`: required URI string for the entity.
  • `type`: required class string. The practical Linked Art class is `Set`.
  • `_label`: required developer-facing human-readable label.

Permitted Top-Level Fields

  • `identified_by`: array of `Name` or `Identifier` structures.
  • `classified_as`: array of `Type` structures that classify this set.
  • `referred_to_by`: array of embedded statements or textual references about the set.
  • `equivalent`: array of compact references to equivalent identities.
  • `representation`: array of embedded `VisualItem` structures linked through digital objects.
  • `member_of`: array of parent `Set` references.
  • `subject_of`: array of embedded `LinguisticObject` web pages or digital objects focused on this set.
  • `attributed_by`: array of `AttributeAssignment` structures relating another entity to this set.
  • `dimension`: array of `Dimension` structures, such as a member count.
  • `about`: array of references to the main topics of the set.
  • `members_contained_by`: array of `HumanMadeObject` references that physically contain or support the set members.
  • `members_exemplified_by`: array of exemplar templates for members of the set. The upstream schema notes that contents below this point are not validated.
  • `used_for`: array of activities in which this set was used.
  • `created_by`: creation activity for the set as an intellectual or conceptual entity.

Embedded Structures Highlighted By The Schema

`identified_by` items can be:

  • `Name` structures, with required `type` and `content`, plus optional `_label`, nested `identified_by`, `referred_to_by`, `classified_as`, `language`, and `part`.
  • `Identifier` structures, following the shared identifier pattern.

`referred_to_by` items are embedded `LinguisticObject` statements:

  • `type`: required.
  • `content`: required.
  • `_label`, `identified_by`, `classified_as`, `referred_to_by`, `language`, and `format` are allowed.

`representation` items are embedded `VisualItem` structures:

  • `type`: required.
  • `_label`, `identified_by`, `classified_as`, `referred_to_by`, and `digitally_shown_by` are allowed.
  • Nested digital objects can carry `access_point`, `format`, and `conforms_to`.

`subject_of` items are embedded `LinguisticObject` structures:

  • `type`: required.
  • `_label`, `identified_by`, `classified_as`, `referred_to_by`, `language`, and `digitally_carried_by` are allowed.

Aggregation Boundaries

The schema keeps collection identity separate from membership enumeration:

  • `member_of`: parent set references for set hierarchy.
  • `members_contained_by`: physical object references for containers or supports, such as boxes, folders, or shelves.
  • `members_exemplified_by`: exemplar templates for the kinds of members in the set, not a complete validated member list.
  • `about`: topics of the set as an intellectual or descriptive aggregation.

Do not invent exhaustive inverse `member[]` lists on a set record unless the source actually provides and the profile expects them. In normal Linked Art API use, member records carry `member_of` and consumers discover members through search or implementation-specific APIs.

Activity Fields

The schema supports set-related activity evidence:

  • `used_for`: activities in which the set was used, such as an exhibition or auction lot event using a set of objects.
  • `created_by`: creation of the intellectual or conceptual set, including common activity fields such as `took_place_at`, `timespan`, `caused_by`, `carried_out_by`, `used_specific_object`, `influenced_by`, `technique`, `during`, `after`, `before`, and `part_of`.

This keeps a conceptual collection or list distinct from the physical objects that may exemplify, contain, or participate in it.

Meta Museum Notes

Meta Museum already exposes sets through `/api/sets/{id}` and preserves full `Set` records through `/api/records/{id}`. Existing coverage proves exhibition-object sets, concept-scheme sets, archival hierarchy sets, auction lot sets, `member_of` links on member records, `members_contained_by` physical-container alignment, `members_exemplified_by` collective descriptions, and `Set` semantic `Creation` activity rows.

This expanded schema adds the endpoint-level validation target for set exports: required identity fields, no unexpected top-level properties, structured classification and descriptive fields, set hierarchy, physical containment support, exemplar templates, and set-specific activity evidence.

Test Ideas

  • Validate representative `Set` records against `set.json`.
  • Assert `@context`, `id`, `type`, and `_label` are present.
  • Assert unknown top-level properties fail schema validation.
  • Preserve `member_of` as parent `Set` references.
  • Preserve `members_contained_by` as `HumanMadeObject` references.
  • Preserve `members_exemplified_by` without treating it as a validated exhaustive member list.
  • Preserve `about`, `dimension`, `used_for`, and `created_by` on collection-like records.