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a pilot project by Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust

The ongoing loss of historical woodcarvings and icons is one of the greatest challenges Nepal faces in its efforts to preserve cultural heritage. Most frightening is the scale of current thievery: in the last 18 months there has been a significant number of objects lost-more than 54 significant sculptures, carvings, and icons. Although police reports are often made, to date not a single police report has led to recovery.

This pilot program by the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust attempts to circulate images of stolen objects in order to discourage purchase by the international art community. Until now art dealers have relied on Lain Singh Bangdell's "Stolen Images of Nepal".and Jürgen Schick's "The Gods Are Leaving Nepal".This digital catalogue will complement these publications with regular updates of lost recent thefts. We will be adding to this catalogue in the coming weeks and look forward to your comments and suggestions.

We invite documentations of other stolen pieces, which we will post.

To see the catalogue of stolen items please click here.