How do scholars approach undated sets of paintings when reconstructing their historical timeframe?

By attributing a hypothetical timeframe based on style and circumstantial evidence

Answer-By attributing a hypothetical timeframe based on style and circumstantial evidence
Scholars approach undated sets of paintings by attributing a hypothetical timeframe based on style and circumstantial evidence when reconstructing their historical context.

Reconstructing the history of paintings is a phenomenal task. There are fewer dated sets compared to undated ones. When arranged chronologically, there are vacuous spells in between, where one can only speculate the kind of painting activity that could have thrived. To make matters worse, the loose folios are no longer part of their original sets and are dispersed in various museums and private collections, which keep surfacing time and again, challenging the constituted timeline and compelling scholars to modify and redefine the chronology in history. In this light, undated sets of paintings are ascribed a hypothetical timeframe on the basis of style and other circumstantial evidence.