The dynamic response of freestanding busts and statues to moderate-to-high ground motions, as also observed in recent post-earthquake surveys, may cause significant damage through different mechanisms, namely sliding, rocking, and overturning. Seismic protection of museum artefacts has typically been based on best-practice approaches rarely supported by engineering evidence. Furthermore, common methods used to limit rocking may induce excessive stress concentrations at the base of statues and busts, which in turn may generate fracture or localized cracks.

The present study investigates experimentally the efficiency of double concave curved surface slider isolators (DCCSSs) for protecting artistic assets. The study illustrates the results of comprehensive tests on real-scale busts and statues. Such tests were carried out at CEA laboratory, Saclay (France), utilizing the state-of-art six-degrees-of-freedom shake table. Earthquake records with different frequency content, collected from recent seismic events, plus building floor acceleration were considered for the shake-table tests. Isolated and non-isolated artefacts were assessed experimentally with incremental loadings. Results demonstrate that DCCSSs effectively reduce seismic acceleration amplification. Such devices can be utilized to prevent rocking and overturning, thus enhancing the seismic resilience of vulnerable artworks, and, in turn, mitigating potential losses.