The United Nations’ heritage body on Monday announced the launch of a virtual museum showcasing hundreds of looted artefacts in a bid to draw attention to the trafficking of cultural property.
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A Zambian ritual mask, a pendant from the ancient Syrian site of Palmyra and a painting by Swedish artist Anders Zorn are among nearly 250 stolen objects displayed on Unesco’s new interactive platform.
But that is only a fraction of the roughly 57,000 items Interpol estimates are in circulation, part of a criminal trade for which the international police organisation’s database is the sole reference point.
Unesco director general Audrey Azoulay said she hoped the museum would draw attention to the vast illegal trade network.
The initiative will inform “as many people as possible” about “a trade that damages memories, breaks the chains of generations and hinders science”, Azoulay said, describing the virtual museum as “unique”.
The online space, designed by renowned Burkina Faso-born architect Diebedo Francis Kere, allows visitors to explore the lost objects and trace their origins and purpose through accompanying stories, testimonies and photos.