At Large  September 4, 2018  Chandra Noyes

9 Great Losses to Art and Cultural Heritage

Felipe Milanez

As the world mourns the loss of the Brazil National Museum to a monumental fire, we look back on some of the greatest losses to humanity’s art and cultural heritage.

The Brazil National Museum in flames
Felipe Milanez

Burning of the Brazil National Museum

On the evening of Sunday, September 2,  Brazil’s National Museum in Rio de Janeiro succumbed to a massive fire. The 200-year-old institution was the oldest scientific institution in Brazil and one of the largest museums of natural history and anthropology in the Americas. Housed in a former palace, their collection included 20 million specimens. Ranging from pre-Columbian works, Egyptian sarcophagi, to Lucy, the oldest human remains found in South America, the collections chronicled the history of Brazil and the world. It is not yet known what all was lost in the fire, and it appears that some collections may have been saved by virtue of having been stored off-site. The National Museum was a victim of chronic underfunding, and poor maintenance of the building may have contributed to the cause of the fire.

About the Author

Chandra Noyes

Chandra Noyes is the former Managing Editor for Art & Object.

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