War & Conflict

Iraqarchive

The Iraq war in watercolour: Interview with Steve Mumford

The artist has visited Iraq five times, and has no qualms about placing himself in the line of fire to document the conflict

Art marketarchive

Insurance for war loot claims on the rise

Increasing numbers of private collectors, dealers, museums, and banks have been buying policies to protect their assets

Iraqarchive

International backing secured for the recuperation of Babylon after disturbances by US military bases

The World Monuments Fund will educate Iraqi experts tasked with keeping the ruins in good condition

Unescoarchive

Samarra shrine must be rebuilt: Unesco says reconstruction will help unite warring factions

The site is considered one of the holiest in Iraq, containing the remains of two of the Prophet's descendants

Unescoarchive

Samarra mosque at risk from new police barracks

There are fears that the new station will be a target for insurgents; Unesco powerless to protect the World Heritage site

Museumsarchive

Pakistan’s contemporary museum launches with anti-war art

President Musharraf has encouraged artists to promote a “peaceful and tolerant” image of their country through their work

Germans call for return of paintings in the National Maritime Museum seized by British troops

The London museum has turned down two previous requests for restitution

Unescoarchive

“Catalogue of the National Museum of Afghanistan”: recording and illustrating key objects in the Kabul Museum

Unesco has published a record of the 1,600 objects acquired by the institution between 1931 and 1985

Featuresarchive

US army collection: Looking at the art of the Iraq war

A collection of paintings is stored in a basement in Washington, DC. The artists are serving—or have served—in the US Army

Tatearchive

Brian Haw's art of protest

The artist explains his anti-war installation

Looted artarchive

Revealed: National Gallery’s Cranach is war loot

The painting was taken from Germany at the end of World War II

Art fairsarchive

Allora & Calzadilla: sonic warfare for Moore Space project

The artists have installed a concrete-grey fortification inside the gallery as an anti-war statement

The Bode Museum reborn in Berlin

The vast collection of sculptural works removed on the outbreak of World War II are now back on view in the newly-restored building

July 2006archive

France promised Mona Lisa to Mussolini to avert war: The untold story of Leonardo's 1939 Milan retrospective

King George VI loaned 19 of his best Leonardo drawings to Milan for the most important exhibition on the artist ever held

Iraqarchive

Minaret of Ana likely the "obelisk" said to have been lost in Iraq bombings

Professor Alistair Northedge asserts that the minaret is the only structure that fits a description provided by US marines

Iranarchive

Victims of Hamas suicide bombers demand Iranian antiquities from US museums in compensation for injuries

Terrorist attacks in Jerusalem which killed five and injured hundreds were executed with funding from Iran—say plaintiffs in several lawsuits

Iraqarchive

Iraq was turned into the world centre for the destruction and looting of some of humanity’s most ancient symbols of civilisation

And so it came to pass that not a single world renowned site or treasured museum was protected

Kosovoarchive

Unesco reconstruction plan for Kosovo

Lack of trust between Serbs and Muslims continues to hinder restoration efforts

Booksarchive

'The destruction of memory: architecture at war', by Robert Bevan

This book argues that the deliberate destruction of buildings and cultural artefacts is a human rights issue

Iraqarchive

Invasive US security measures place Samarra’s heritage at risk

A giant embankment built around the city has reduced attacks on US troops, but may have compromised important sites

How to protect British sites from the destruction of war after 1954 Hague Convention ratification

Now the UK is a signatory, it must consider how best to conserve its cultural heritage should an invasion ever occur

Swedish museum faces Russian restitution claim

The Konstmuseum in Malmö allegedly kept works lent to the gallery before the outbreak of the First World War

Provenancearchive

Norton Museum’s war loot research grant

A grant will enable them to probe incomplete provenance records

Samarra mosque's spiral minaret targeted by bombers

Insurgents allegedly staged the attack to prevent US troops using the tower as a vantage point

US snipers co-opt Samarra mosque’s spiral minaret

The US military says “military necessity” takes precedence over the safeguarding of this Islamic landmark

Iraqarchive

The destruction of culture in Iraq has been enormous; now conservation must be a priority

We can help by providing training in site management techniques, in museology and in conservation

US base has caused "shocking" damage to Babylon

The American contractor that built the infrastructure for a base adjacent to the ancient site is responsible for much of the destruction, says an independent report

First show at Kabul Museum since war

Austria finances the restoration of wooden idols chopped up by the Taliban