“When a cultural object is stolen, we lose a part of our identity. Learning about these missing objects is the first step toward their recovery,” reads an introductory note of UNESCO’s newly launched Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects.

The museum, launched September 29 at UNESCO’s MONDIACULT conference, is “an innovative digital platform [which] reconnects communities with their stolen cultural treasures”, and seeks to confront the illicit trafficking of heritage items, particularly as a result of colonialism.

In the museum…

The digital museum currently displays almost 240 missing objects from 46 countries, a number that is expected to grow, but also eventually fall. This is because the museum aims to “gradually empty itself”, as the objects are recovered, and returned to their c

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