I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.
Bust affected by SCP-7914. Exposure time 17 hours.
Item #: SCP-7914
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-7914 is to be contained within a chamber with no less than 4 busts within its line of sight. The busts may be made of any stone or metal appropriate for statuary, and must not be made in the image of an extant person. At least 2 busts imitating works from classical antiquity should be included, as this has proven to increase containment efficacy. The busts are to be replaced every two weeks. No images of SCP-7914 may be taken, although direct viewing may be permitted.
In the event of a containment breach, recovery personnel are to track SCP-7914's location and isolate it from all artworks within its view as soon as possible; draping a cloth over it is considered ideal. Aforementioned artworks should be subsequently inspected for signs of contamination and brought into containment where appropriate. Any remaining busts in SCP-7914's chamber are to be destroyed and replaced immediately.
Description: SCP-7914 is a basalt bust sculpture depicting an unknown individual, believed to have originated from the Near East during the late Bronze Age. The bust possesses an unusually large closemouthed smile similar to the "archaic smile" expression prevalent in Archaic Greek sculptures, despite predating this historical period by several centuries.
Sculpture affected by SCP-7914. Exposure time 73 hours.
When artwork with depictions of the complete human face are within view of the bust, their faces will gradually begin changing to express a permanent closemouthed smile after a variable period of initial exposure, but only when not observed. This most commonly affects other busts, sculptures, and statues, but has also been known to induce slower changes in oil paintings.
SCP-7914's expression remains unchanged throughout this process. Photographs of SCP-7914 also propagate this effect, and preliminary tests with isolated dummy servers have shown that digital images of SCP-7914 are capable of affecting all other image files within the entire database, encrypted or otherwise.
Extensive exposure periods are known to increase the intensity of the smile, but do not seem to progress further than that of SCP-7914's expression. When all depicted faces in its view have reached the endpoint of their transformation, SCP-7914's lips will part to reveal a set of teeth upon subsequent observations. In the absence of new artwork or depictions entering its line of sight at this stage, SCP-7914 will spatially dislocate to a random location shortly after, preferring museums, galleries, and collections where more artwork may be found.
Sarcophagus lid affected by SCP-7914. Exposure time unknown.
SCP-7914 was recovered from the Louvre Museum in 1974, shortly after being put on display with other new acquisitions by the museum, most of which were eventually transformed by SCP-7914. No information regarding the bust's provenance could be found in the Louvre, suggesting it had dislocated itself into the museum's collection.
Addendum 7914.01:
During initial containment of SCP-7914, there was no written restriction on the use of sculptures made in the image of living individuals. A bust of Head Res. Janus was used, who later reported the occurrence of secondary anomalous effects.
I swear to god, they're all in there laughing when no one is in the room. They're all in there whispering to each other. I can hardly make out anything they're saying, but I can hear my own voice giggling with this gritty scraping tone. Like tumbling rocks.
When I dream— when I sleep, I'm in that room. My bust isn't there. They're all laughing while I turn to stone. And then I wake up.
— Head Researcher Janus
Audio recordings from SCP-7914's chamber do not indicate any meaningful deviations from background noise. Recent reports have also noted that Head Res. Janus's resting expression has been involuntarily but steadily forming into a wide, close-mouthed smile, despite frequent facial muscle cramps.