Due to the 2003 Iraq war many historical artifacts have either been stolen or damaged; however, over 40 ivory pieces were restored in Rome, in the workshops of the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro (Central Institute for Restoration). Baghdad's Iraqi National Museum owns the greatest collection of Assyrian ivories in the world. Over the last fifteen years, this collection, both the pieces held in the vaults of the Iraqi Central Bank and those still held in the Museum, has suffered as a result both of the war and of poor conservation conditions. Some of the most precious objects were restored by the "Istituto Centrale per il Restauro" team in 2004, immediately after the installation of a new restoration workshop provided by the Italian Ministry of Culture.