Canvas & Code

The recent US-Israeli strikes caused damage to Tehran's Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a masterpiece of the Qajar Dynasty. Based on available information, the damage to the Golestan Palace was not a deliberate act targeting the site itself, but rather collateral damage from nearby military strikes by the US and Israel [1] . The vulnerability of cultural heritage in times of conflict is precisely what the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural

Art is timeless, ownership is not. In a world where collectors are global, mobile, and strategic, legacy planning and art ownership structuring have evolved far beyond the Pang family’s 1950s dilemma. If you are still dwelling on the Nanjing Museum saga [1] from the previous article, it is worth examining more deeply donor intent and, in particular, whether the preservation of legacy can be realised without inadvertently losing control over it. Further, how can modern legal

I have always considered the Nanjing Museum (the “ Museum ”) to be among the most underestimated cultural institutions in East Asia, with its immense collection spanning from the Paleolithic era to contemporary China, particularly rich in Ming and Qing imperial porcelain, all the more significant given its historical role as the former National Central Museum of the Republic of China (that is, before the communists won the civil war). In late 2025, however, the Museum made h