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 digitise and register thousands of at‑risk objects documented in Swiss‑held inventories from conflict and crisis zones - such as Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, Iraq and Libya - so they can be continuously monitored on the international art market. By converting archival records from museums, archaeological missions and researchers into searchable due‑diligence entries, CHARD enables the identification of stolen or missing cultural property when it appears for sale, supporting law‑enforcement investigations and repatriation efforts. The project builds on Switzerland’s long-standing leadership in cultural‑heritage collaboration and uses CHARD’s proven partnership with the Art Loss Register to ensure perpetual monitoring. Designed for long-term impact, the project transforms existing Swiss documentation into a sustainable, globally relevant tool against illicit trafficking.

Get in touch to find out more about this active project.

Afghanistan

Our 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 our best known cases.

Ukraine

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

Sudan

The civil war in Sudan has exposed many museums, institutions and sites. Our most recent project in this area - initiated in 2023 - has been led by registrations of objects at the national museum, and collaborating with international archaeologists who have worked in the region.

Syria

CHARD’s very first project in 2015 was the registration of objects in Palmyra following its takeover and damage by ISIS. Thousands of objects from the site and the country have now been registered.

Global Projects - Yemen, Egypt, Cambodia, Lebanon, Bolivia, and many others

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. Our team has extensive networks in many countries and has worked on lost and looted art antiquities from Yemen, Lebanon, Egypt, Bolivia, Cambodia, Italy, Greece and many more countries.

If you are interested in supporting or partnering with any of our projects, we look forward to hearing from you.