The international museums community is clamping down on the illicit trade in cultural artefacts from Afghanistan by publishing an overview of the kind of items that are at risk.
The Red List of Afghanistan Antiquities at Risk has been compiled by the International Council of Museums (Icom) in association with the British Museum.
The list is designed to help police and customs officials spot cultural artefacts that may have been taken illegally from Afghanistan.
Icom also urges museums, auction houses, collectors and art dealers not to buy items from the country that do not have a clear provenance.
The publication of the list follows the British Museum's completion of an inventory of about 1,500 objects illicitly taken from Afghanistan and seized by British customs in 2005-06.
There has been looting and destruction of archaeological sites and monuments during 30 years of war in the country.
But a British Museum spokeswoman said it was difficult to assess how bad the situation is on the ground: "We are judging it by what is coming into this country, but the security situation means that you cannot look at sites in Afghanistan, as the British Museum has done in Iraq."
The Red List of Afghanistan Antiquities at Risk has been compiled by the International Council of Museums (Icom) in association with the British Museum.
The list is designed to help police and customs officials spot cultural artefacts that may have been taken illegally from Afghanistan.
Icom also urges museums, auction houses, collectors and art dealers not to buy items from the country that do not have a clear provenance.
The publication of the list follows the British Museum's completion of an inventory of about 1,500 objects illicitly taken from Afghanistan and seized by British customs in 2005-06.
There has been looting and destruction of archaeological sites and monuments during 30 years of war in the country.
But a British Museum spokeswoman said it was difficult to assess how bad the situation is on the ground: "We are judging it by what is coming into this country, but the security situation means that you cannot look at sites in Afghanistan, as the British Museum has done in Iraq."
Links
Icom has produced lists for Africa, Latin America and Iraq: icom.museum/redlist
Icom has produced lists for Africa, Latin America and Iraq: icom.museum/redlist
