The Cultural Heritage At Risk Database (CHARD Foundation)

Protecting art and cultural heritage worldwide.

A leader in the arts and heritage sector, and in fighting the illicit trade in art and antiquities, the CHARD Foundation’s mission is to protect the world’s cultural heritage - and especially moveable objects in conflict zones.

CHARD partners and builds on existing coalitions, initiatives and mechanisms to fight the illicit trade by maintaining a database that registers objects ‘at risk’ in museums, warehouses and sites in conflict zones, to detect and locate them if they appear on the art market or as part of investigations.

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CHARD OBJECTS REGISTERED

Afghanistan: 11,230

Ukraine: 6,348

Syria: 1,159

Yemen: 684

Lebanon: 779

Libya: 487

Iraq: 2,479

Nepal: 473

Ethiopia: 277

CHARD OBJECTS REGISTERED Afghanistan: 11,230 Ukraine: 6,348 Syria: 1,159 Yemen: 684 Lebanon: 779 Libya: 487 Iraq: 2,479 Nepal: 473 Ethiopia: 277

Latest News

  • Ongoing Working Group on the revision of the UNESCO Dealer Code of Ethics

  • CHARD invited to present to museums and law enforcement across the Middle East at Qatar National Library's 'Crisis Preparedness and Cultural Heritage Protection: Prevention to Recovery'

  • CHARD's work a crucial part of the British Council's expert publication 'Digital Cultural Heritage: Imagination, Innovation and Opportunity'

  • 'Transforming Cultural Heritage Inventories: The Cultural Heritage At Risk Database and Tools Against the Illicit Trade' published in the ARCA Journal

  • CHARD's first South American presentation at Foro Cusco on invitation from UNESCO & Cultural Affairs of the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

  • CHARD’s registration of 5,000+ objects at risk or missing in Ukraine featured in Kyiv Independent documentary "Uncovering FSB's secret operation to steal Ukraine's valuable art”

  • Alongside Netherlands law enforcement on the panel “Heritage at Risk: The Effectiveness of Heritage Protection in Times of International Conflict”

  • CHARD at UNESCO stakeholder dialogues

  • Statue of Amenhotep II in the Sudan National Museum, one of the immediate registrations on the CHARD database following the looting of the museum

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

  • 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

  • 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

Global Project -
Swiss Cultural Heritage Inventory Project (SCHIP)

The Swiss Cultural Heritage Inventory Project is CHARD’s latest, underway throughout 2026. The project - supported by the Federal Office for Culture - will register thousands of at risk objects from institutions and sites in Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Libya and many other conflict areas where Swiss archaeologists and experts have worked in recent decades.

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.

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.

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.

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“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.

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The Cultural Heritage At Risk Database (CHARD) is a foundation in the Netherlands that was established to protect the world’s cultural heritage by identifying and recovering stolen and looted objects on the market. We do that by working with mu
Today is @unesco International Day against Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property, and there couldn’t be a better day to launch our account here on Instagram. It’s been 9 years since the Cultural Heritage At Risk Database (CHARD) was