RED LIST OF

CULTURALOBJECTS AT RISKUKRAINE				

RED LISTOF CULTURAL OBJECTS AT RISK - UKRAINE

Why an Emergency Red Listfor Ukraine?
The cultural heritage of Ukraine is protected by strong
national and international laws. This diverse heritage
has long been at risk of being stolen, looted or illegally
traded, but since the large-scale invasion of Russia into
Ukraine on 24 February 2022, these risks have increased.
The purpose of this Emergency Red List of Cultural
Objects at Risk - Ukraine is to contribute to theprotection of cultural heritage by identifying the typesof objects that are most at risk.
Museums, auction houses, art dealers and collectors
are urged not to acquire objects similar to thosepresented in this Emergency Red List, without having
carefully and thoroughly researched their origin
and all relevant legal documentation. Any culturalartefact that could have originated from Ukraine –before and after the invasion – should be subject todetailed scrutiny and precautionary measures before
any transaction is concluded.
In cooperation with ICOM Ukraine and a dedicatedteam of Ukrainian specialists, ICOM has publishedthis Emergency Red List of Cultural Objects at Risk Ukraine thanks to the support of the ICOM Foundation.

Protecting cultural heritage
Every day, somewhere in the world, objects are stolen,looted or illegally sold on the market or online, resulting
in an irreparable loss of heritage of great historical,
scientific and societal value. Over the past 30 years,
the illicit trade in art and antiquities has become aserious issue that transcends borders and whose
impact reaches far beyond the loss of cultural heritage.
Since 2000, ICOM has published Red Lists that detailcategories of endangered cultural goods from all over
the world. These Red Lists have become important
instruments in the fight against the illicit traffic in
cultural goods. Red Lists are practical tools that help,
in particular, art and heritage professionals, as wellas law enforcement officials, identify cultural objects
that are protected by national and international
legislation.
The ICOM Red Lists were preceded by the One Hundred
Missing Objects series: an ICOM publication thathighlighted missing cultural objects. For decades,
ICOM has been at the forefront of actions toprotect heritage from illicit trafficking, using theunique experience of museum professionals to
assist heritage and non-heritage experts alike identify
and protect cultural heritage.

Should you suspect that a cultural object originating from Ukraine may be stolen,looted or illegally exported, contact your local authorities. Should you require
further information or assistance, please contact:
International Council of Museums (ICOM)
15, rue Lasson - 75012 Paris - France
Tel.: +33 1 47 34 05 00
E-mail: illicit-traffic@icom.museum

Department of Cultural Heritageof Ministry of Culture and Information
Policy of Ukraine
19 Ivana Franka str., Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
Tel.: +38 (044) 272 48 08
E-mail: info@mkip.gov.ua

IMPORTANT NOTEA Red List is NOT a list of actual stolen objects.
The cultural goods depicted are inventoried objects within the collections of recognised
institutions. They serve to illustrate the categories of cultural goods protected by legislation
which are most vulnerable to illicit traffic.

Main regulations protecting cultural heritage from Ukraine
This list is non-exhaustive. All instruments and regulations should be read to include eventual amendments and/or implementation acts.

INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

EUROPEAN INSTRUMENTThe Hague Convention of 14 May 1954
for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
Ratification 6 February 1957

European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage(Revised) of Valletta, Council of Europe, 16 January 1992.
Ratification 26 February 2004

First Protocol of 14 May 1954
Ratification 6 February 1957

NATIONAL LEGISLATION

Second Protocol of 26 March 1999
Ratification 30 June 2020
UNESCO Convention of 14 November 1970
on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import,
Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
Ratification 28 April 1988
UNESCO Convention of 16 November 1972
concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
Ratification 12 October 1988
UNESCO Convention of 2 November 2001
on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
Ratification 27 December 2006

Law No. 254к/96-ВР Constitution of Ukraine (1996).
Law No. 1068-ХІV on Export, Import and Return of Cultural Values (1999).
Law No. 1805-ІІІ on Protection of Cultural Heritage (2000).
Law No. 2341-III Criminal codex of Ukraine (2001).
Law No. 1626-ІV on Protection of Archaeological Heritage (2004).
Law No. 249/95-ВР about Museums and museum work (1995).
Law No. 32/95-ВР about Libraries and library affairs (1995).

ICOM wishes to thank all of the museums and institutions
who so generously provided the photographs presented in thisEmergency Red List of Cultural Objects at Risk - Ukraine.
All institutions are credited in the captions with their full names or acronyms.
Please see their full institutional names and acronyms in the following list:
Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Lviv Museum of the History of Religion
Museum of Book and Printing of Ukraine
National Art Museum of Ukraine (NAMU)
National Center of Folk Culture – Ivan Honchar Museum
National Museum of the History of Ukraine, Kyiv (MIST)
National Museum of Ukrainian Folk and Decorative Art (NMUNDM)
National Preserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra“
National Reserve “Ancient Halych”
Taras Shevchenko University Archaeological Museum
V. I. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine (NBUV)RED LIST OF CULTU
Documents, manuscripts, books

13th – 19th century AD
Manuscripts and miniatures, rare books, incunabula and early printed books; on paper or parchment;
woodcut, gilding, engraving; handwritten and printed; in Arabic, Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew or Latin script.
Some books are also the first printed works of the new Ukrainian literature written in the popular language.
Manuscripts, miniatures and rare books
1. Orsha Gospel Book, language: Church Slavonic in Belarusian or Ukrainian
variant, 142 folios, parchment, Orsha, 13th c. AD, 4°, 19.4 x 26.4 cm. © NBUV
2. Aeneid, Ivan Kotliarevskyi, language: Ukrainian, 176 pages 8°, 1798,
20 x 13 cm. © NBUV
3. Pinkas of the Talmud Torah, Religious School in Kopychintsy, language:
Hebrew, 8 folios, 1873-1889, 37 х 24 cm. © NBUV
1

Early printed books

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4. First complete printed edition of the Bible in Church Slavonic language,
paper, printing, woodcuts, leather binding, Ostroh, 1581, 2°, 32 х 20 х 10 cm.
© Museum of Book and Printing of Ukraine
5. Pateryk ili Otechnik Pecherskyi [Kyiv–Pecherskyi Pateryk], language:
Church Slavonic, first edition, paper, engraving, printing, woodcuts,
leather binding, Pechersk Monastery, Кyiv, 1661, 2°, 28.5 x 17.5 x 6 cm.
© Museum of Book and Printing of Ukraine

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6. Theological text, manuscript on paper, Bakhchisaray, Crimea,
18th c. AD, 22 x 17 cm. © Lviv Museum of the History of Religion
7. The Altar Gospel, Pechersk printing house, silver, wood, paper,
embossing, gilding, printing, engraving, 1707 (metal cover, 1658),
41 x 26 x 8 cm. © National Preserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra“

7

Icons

Icons featuring figures (religious inspired art) painted on canvas or wood; oil and/or tempera; gilding and/or
silvering.

89

8. “Saint Nicholas with scenes from his life“ (oil, tempera, gilding, silvering
on gesso-grounded two-piece lime-wood panel, relief, carving), Slobozhanschyna,
1680-1685 AD, 125 x 81 x 1.7 cm (frame: 144 x 119 x 19 cm). © NAMU
9. “Christ the Vigilant Eye, Christ is the Grape vine, John the Baptist“, oil on canvas,
Kyiv region, 1853, 58 x 120 cm. © NAMU

10
10. “Exaltation of the Holy Cross of the Lord, the Virgin and Child, St. Nicholas,
Yuri the Dragon Fighter, Crucifixion“, oil on wood, folk icon, Bukovyna region,late 19th c. AD, 57.2 x 97.5 cm. © National Center of Folk Culture - Ivan Honchar Museum

RAL OBJECTS AT RISK - UKRAINE
Fine arts

Late 19th – mid 20th century AD
Drawings, engravings, paintings and folk art; in oil, pencil or watercolour; on canvas or paper. Ukrainian
national schools of realism, avant-garde, and postwar (social realism) and naïve art.
Paintings and graphics

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11. “On the river“, oil on canvas, by Mykola Pymonenko, Ukrainian arts, late 19th-early 20th c. AD, 80.5 x 109 cm. © NAMU
12. “High rises“, oil on canvas, by Сhepyk Mychailo, Ukrainian postwar art (social realism), 1960, 207 x 314 cm. © NAMU
13. “Bridge Sevres“, oil on canvas, by Oleksandra Ekster, Ukrainian avant-garde, 1912, 145 x 115 cm. © NAMU
14. “Market“, black pencil on gray paper, by Oleksandr Bohomazov, 1914, 39.9 x 30.3 cm. © NAMU
15. “Black beast“, watercolor on paper, by Mariia Prymachenko, naïve art, 1936, 29 x 40 cm. © NMUNDM

15

Widespread artworks by folk painters of the 19th – first half of the 20th c. in central Ukraine
16. “Kozak-Mamai“, oil on canvas, folk painting, Poltava Region, 18th c. AD, 86.5 x 66 cm.
© National Center of Folk Culture – Ivan Honchar Museum
17. “Portrait of a girl in wreath“, oil on canvas, by Panas Yarmolenko, Kyiv Region, early 20th c. AD,
68 x 67.7 cm. © National Center of Folk Culture – Ivan Honchar Museum

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Religious artefacts
Service artefacts and sculptures; silver and wood; engraving, embossing, gilding and/or silvering.

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18. Discos (silver, engraving, minting, gilding), Kyiv region, early 18th c. AD,
8.8 x 28.8 x 20.7 cm. © National Preserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra“
19. Altar Cross (silver, embossing, engraving), Cherkasy region, end of 17th c. AD,
37.1 x 18.3 x 0.9 cm. © National Preserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra“
20. Khatases [decorations for the Torah], (silver, repoussé and chasing), Crimea,
19th c. AD. © National Reserve “Ancient Halych”

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21. Bakhurst [cassolette], silver, Crimea, 18th-19th c. AD, 28 x Ø 25.3 cm.
© MIST
22. Angel (wood, oil, gilding), Ternopil region, 18th c. AD, 131 x 60 x 44 cm. © NAMU
23. Mark the Evangelist (wood, carving, gilding), Kyiv region, 18th c. AD,
47 x 34 x 20 cm. © NAMU

RED LIST OF CULTU
Applied arts
Vessels and decoration, textiles (including folk art) and costumes, jewellery of the 19th-20th c.
Vessels and decoration
24. “Bear” vessel (blown coloured glass), Lubny, Poltava region, 18th c. AD, 21.2 cm.
© NMUNDM
25. Vase (faience, relief, color glaze), Mezhyhirya faience factory, Kyiv region, 1833, 19.5 cm.
© NMUNDM
26. Decorated ceramic tile (clay, engobes, molding, decoration), Kosiv, Ivano-Frankivsk region,
1849, 23 x 20 x 6.5 cm. © National Centre of Folk Culture – Ivan Honchar Museum

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Textiles and costumes (including folk art)

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27. Crimean Tatar Fes [woman’s headdress], Crimea, last quarter 19th-early 20th c. AD,
17 x 18 cm. © MIST
28. Crimean Tatar Yipishli kushak [women’s belt] (fabric, silver, skan, grain, gilding),
Crimea, last quarter 19th-early 20th c. AD. © MIST
29. Carpet (wool, hand-weaving), Podillia area, 19th c. AD, 155 x 410 cm. © NMUNDM

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30. Ritual towel (home-spun hemp cloth, hand-embroidery), Cherkasy region,late 19th-early 20th c. AD, 285 x 44 cm.
© National Centre of Folk Culture – Ivan Honchar Museum
31. Woman’s wedding dress (linen cloth, cotton, wool, hand embroidery, weaving),
Ternopil region, early 20th c. AD.
© National Centre of Folk Culture – Ivan Honchar Museum

Jewellery
32. Women’s “Dukach” jewellery (gilded metal, blue enamel, casting), Vertiyivka, Chernihiv region,late 19th c. AD, 10 x 6 cm. © National Centre of Folk Culture – Ivan Honchar Museum
33. Women’s “Dukach” [pendant with bow] (silver, brass, copper, glass, casting, minting, engraving),
Veremiyivka, Cherkasy region, first half of the 19th c. AD, 10.3 x 6.5 x 1 cm x Ø 3.7 cm.
© National Center of Folk Culture – Ivan Honchar Museum

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Numismatics

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34. Scythian ring with Panticapaeum stater, 4th c. BC, Ø 2 cm. © MIST

36. Gold coin, Kyivan Rus, Volodymyr, 972-1015 AD, 1.9 cm. © MIST

35. Hryvnia [silver ingots used as money in that period], so-called Chernihiv type,12th-13th c. AD, 15.1 x 4.7 cm. © MIST

37. Silver denarium [small coin], Kyivan Principality, Volodymyr Olherdovych,
1363-1394 AD, 0.9 cm. © MISTRAL OBJECTS AT RISK - UKRAINE
Archaeological artefacts
Vessels and containers, sculptures and figurines, weapons, jewels and personal items, tools and accessories;
plain and decorated; in terracotta, clay, bone, bronze, iron or gold; from various civilizations and eras(including Scythian objects).
Vessels and containers
38. Binocular vessel, ceramic, Trypillia, 5th-4th c. BC, 18.8 x 26.5 x 11.5 cm. © MIST
39. Ceramic pot, Catacomb culture, late 3rd-early 2nd millennium BC, Luhansk
region, Ukraine, 18 x Ø max. 21.5 cm.
© Taras Shevchenko University Archaeological Museum
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40. Ceramic Cassolette, Catacomb culture, Luhansk region,end 3rd-beginning 2nd millennium BC, 7 x Ø max. 17.7 cm.
© Taras Shevchenko University Archaeological Museum

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Sculptures and figurines
41. Female figurine, ceramic, Oselivka, 4th-3rd c. BC, 17 x 4.2 x 2.8 cm. © MIST
42. Ancient Greek Terracotta, Crimea, 1st c. AD, 11.6 х 8.5 х 3 cm. © MIST

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Weapons
43. Scythian arrowheads, 4th c. BC.
© Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

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44. Iron sword and dagger, Cherkasy region, 7th-5th c. BC, 40 cm, 73 cm. © MIST

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45. Bronze battle axe, Khudlove, 14th-12th c. BC, 26.2 x 5.6 cm. © MIST

Jewels and personal items

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46. Bronze temporal pendant, Kyiv, 1st half of 2nd millennium BC, 8.4 x 3.9 cm. © MIST

48. Gold rjasna with “kolt“ [headdress pendant], Kyiv, 12th c. AD, 7.6 x 2.8 х 3.1 cm. © MIST

47. Silver buckle with image of eagle, Crimea, 7th c. AD, 19.6 cm. © MIST

49. Bronze mirror, Romny district, 7th-6th c. BC, 31 x 17.5 cm. © MIST

Tools and accessories

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50. Bone cheek-pieces, Vovkivtsi, 7th-6th c. BC, approx. 16.7-19.3 cm each. © MIST
51. Scythian horse bridle decorations, 4th c. BC, individual elements approx. 16 x 14 mm,
25 x 20 mm, 20 x 18 mm.
© Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

5253

52. Bronze plaques, Cherkasy, Kirovograd, Kherson regions, 5th-4th c. BC,
approx. 7 x 5 cm each. © MIST
53. Bronze poletop, Vovkivtsi, 5th c. BC, 28 cm. © MISTICOM AND THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) was established in 1946 to represent museums andmuseum professionals worldwide. ICOM is committed to the promotion and protection of natural andcultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible. With a unique network of over 45,000
members in 123 countries and territories (2021), ICOM is active in a wide range of museum and heritage
related disciplines.
ICOM maintains formal relations with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) and has a consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
as an expert in the fight against illicit traffic in cultural goods. ICOM also works in collaboration withorganisations such as INTERPOL, the World Customs Organization (WCO) and UNIDROIT to carry out someof its international public service missions.
The protection of heritage in the event of natural disaster or armed conflict is also at the core of ICOM’s
work, supported by its members, and its national and international committees and through its strong
involvement in the Blue Shield, of which it is a founding member. In the event of a crisis, ICOM can mobilise
its network of experts in the field of cultural heritage from all over the world.
In 2013, ICOM also created the first International Observatory on Illicit Traffic in Cultural Goods in order toreinforce its actions in fighting illicit traffic with a database of resources on the subject available online(https://www.obs-traffic.museum/).

All the Red Lists are available on the ICOM website: https://icom.museum/en/
With the generous support of:

15, rue Lasson - 75012 Paris - France
Tel.: +33 (0)1 47 34 05 00
E-mail: illicit-traffic@icom.museum - Website: https://icom.museum© 2022, ICOM, all rights reserved. Graphic design: TTT. Cover: Angel (wood, oil, gilding), Ternopil region, 18th c. AD, 131 x 60 x 44 cm. © NAMU

The Red Lists have been designed as practical tools to fight the illegal trade in cultural objects. ICOM
is grateful for the unwavering commitment of the experts and institutions who generously contributeto the success of the Red Lists.