The Cultural Heritage At Risk Database (CHARD)

Protecting artworks and cultural heritage worldwide.

Locating stolen and looted objects and fighting the illicit trade in art and antiquities

Due diligence with the international art market, museums and collectors

A leading charity in the arts and heritage sector, CHARD’s mission is to protect the world’s cultural heritage, and especially moveable objects that may be at risk in conflict and crisis zones. CHARD maintains a database that registers these objects, so that the data can be used to detect any of those registered objects on the market in case they are stolen, lost or looted. CHARD’s database is used to compare objects on the art market or that are part of law enforcement or other investigations.

Contact Us

Amsterdam
London

chardfoundation@gmail.com

Timeline and Latest News

  • Statue of Amenhotep II in the Sudan National Museum, one of the most recent registrations on the CHARD database

  • CHARD invited to address the European Association of Archaeologists at the 30th EAA Annual Meeting in Rome, August 2024

  • CHARD Project Ukraine on the ground in Kyiv to inspect cultural heritage and museums during the ongoing war

  • Protected monuments in Kyiv, during the ongoing war in Ukraine

  • Copyright: Loraine Bodewes

    Presenting at the inaugural TEFAF Summit on Safeguarding Cultural Property, in partnership with UNESCO

  • CHARD included on the Responsible Art Market Initiative (RAM) working group to develop the RAM Antiquities Transaction Due Diligence Toolkit

  • Presenting CHARD at UNESCO stakeholder dialogue

  • Kushan relief recovered and returned to the National Museum of Afghanistan

  • CHARD's partner, the Art Loss Register, undertaking their 450,000 searches of objects on the art market each year

  • National Museum of Afghanistan inventory registered

  • The landmark case of the gold coffin of Nedjemankh has involved CHARD board members and has led to the identification of many stolen and looted objects on the market

  • Stolen Roman torso from Lebanon identified through publication by Dr Rolf Stucky

  • Repatriation of three stolen Roman marble sculptures to Lebanon: a model for the power of archaeological records to identify and recover stolen antiquities

  • Registration of objects in the museum at Palmyra as CHARD's first project in 2015, and launch of Project Syria

Ongoing Projects

Project Ukraine

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has resulted in destruction and losses from many museums and cultural sites. CHARD has been working with organisations and individuals inside and outside the country to record missing objects and those within collections at risk.

Project Afghanistan

CHARD’s largest project including thousands of registrations has been in Afghanistan, both before and since August 2021. It has also resulted in the identification and return of a stolen Kushan relief from the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul, in one of CHARD’s best known cases.

Global Projects - Syria, Cambodia and many other countries

Dedicated projects have been established with many other countries, but there is no limit to where CHARD works to register objects that might be at risk from war, conflict and other crises. CHARD’s team has extensive networks in many countries and has worked on lost and looted art antiquities from Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Egypt, Bolivia, Cambodia, Italy, Greece and many more countries.

“I am happy that we are able to recover another missing piece from the collection of the National Museum of Afghanistan… As the result of our cooperation many lost objects from Afghanistan have been recovered in the UK and I hope that not only customs, but also museums and other private collections, will continue to help us return objects from Afghanistan in this way”

– Fahim Rahimi, Director, National Museum of Afghanistan

Get in Touch

CHARD’s mission relies on partners all over the world, and expertise and contributions big and small. Do reach out to us if we can assist or work together.