The Cultural Heritage At Risk Database (CHARD) is a foundation to protect the world’s cultural heritage, especially moveable objects that may be at risk.
CHARD’s three main areas of charitable work and expertise are to:
Ensure that objects that might be ‘at risk’, or that are reported missing or stolen from museums, sites and depositories, are registered onto a due diligence database to be searched for on the international art market
Assist governmental and non-governmental organisations, the art trade, museums, collectors, archaeologists and other interested parties in identifying and removing stolen and looted cultural property from the art market
Provide and support museums and archives with inventories, and to hold these inventories with CHARD so that if the source of the information is lost, it remains available in perpetuity
CHARD is a cultural ANBI foundation registered in The Netherlands.
How it works
To address the theft and illicit trafficking of cultural property, CHARD registers objects that are stored at museums, warehouses, archaeological and religious sites, archives and depositories onto a due diligence database. These objects are registered on the database used by CHARD, the Art Loss Register, to ensure that if registered items have been or might be lost or stolen, they can be identified if offered for sale on the international art market. CHARD’s database is therefore used every day to be compared to 450,000 objects on the market and in collections each year.
CHARD works with regional, national and international initiatives to register unique objects on the database once they have been inventoried. These registrations are carried out free of charge to whomever provides the necessary data. The registration of stolen, missing or at risk objects on an art market due diligence database offers the best possible chance of identifying them being offered on the international antiquities market, as well as a practical deterrent to thieves and looters which can further ensure the safety of these collections for future generations.
The foundation has been initiated to complement the hard work of museum professionals, archaeologists and many others who painstakingly record these objects in the first place, as well as those who risk their lives every day to protect them. CHARD hopes to assist in the protection of these objects in perpetuity by informing relevant governments, ministries, museums, archaeologists or experts – as well as any appropriate law enforcement agencies – should those objects appear on the market.
Goals and Vision
The goals of the CHARD foundation include:
the protection, conservation and restoration of both moveable and immovable, tangible and intangible, heritage around the world
the provision of aid to museums, archaeological sites, archives and many other heritage sites during conflict, unrest or other challenges
the recovery, repatriation and/or restitution of stolen and looted cultural property
the role of heritage in capacity building and providing future resources for the local community
the role of arts, culture and heritage in education
an understanding and appreciation of other cultures and multifaceted identities.
In the future, CHARD aims to be a vital tool to museums and sites in conflict zones to register their objects to ensure that they do not appear on the international art market. It will also be an essential part of the due diligence process for the art market, museums and collectors; it will initiate and assist in investigations for international law enforcement and customs officials; and finally create a reference point for archaeologists, art historians and heritage professionals for inventories from the ‘at risk’ sites registered.