What should be done with all the art in British museums that was essentially stolen from China? And from other countries during colonialist history? What really happened to them and why is it important? What other countries are guilty or victims of this?

What happens when a masterpiece becomes loot? Who gets to decide where a culture’s treasures truly belong: the country that created them, the museum that preserved them, or whoever managed to take them? In the latest edition of Nico’s History Through Art series, we’ll explore history through objects that travelled across borders through conquest, colonialism, theft and war. We’ll examine Chinese and Egyptian treasures that ended up in British museums, Viking pillaging and the extraordinary story of the Mona Lisa heist, when stealing a painting helped transform it into the most famous artwork on Earth.

But this won’t simply be a tour of famous thefts. With each artwork and object, Nico will guide us into the historical moment surrounding it: what it meant to the people who created it, why someone wanted to possess it, how power determined where it ended up, and what its journey tells us about empire, identity, cultural memory and ownership. Should museums return objects acquired through conquest? Can something stolen centuries ago ever truly become the property of its new home? Expect beautiful art, remarkable stories and some surprisingly difficult questions as we discover how much history can be hidden behind a museum display case.

英国博物馆里那些本质上从中国拿走的艺术品，应该怎么处理？那些在殖民历史中从其他国家被带走的艺术品呢？它们当年到底经历了什么，为什么这件事重要？还有哪些国家是加害者，或受害者？

当一件杰作变成战利品，会发生什么？谁有资格决定一种文化的珍宝真正属于哪里：创造它的国家，保存它的博物馆，还是那个成功把它带走的人？在 Nico 的“透过艺术看历史”系列新一期中，我们会通过那些跨越国界流转的物件来看历史，而它们的旅程往往和征服、殖民、盗窃与战争有关。我们会看流落到英国博物馆里的中国和埃及珍宝，聊维京人的掠夺，也会讲到 蒙娜丽莎被盗的传奇故事，正是那次偷画事件，帮助它变成了地球上最有名的艺术作品之一。

但这不会只是一场“著名盗窃案巡礼”。每看到一件艺术品或物件，Nico 都会带我们走进它背后的历史时刻：它对创造它的人意味着什么，为什么有人想拥有它，权力如何决定它最终被放在哪里，以及它的流转如何揭示帝国、身份、文化记忆和所有权的问题。博物馆应该归还通过征服获得的物件吗？一件几百年前被偷走的东西，真的有可能成为新所在地的财产吗？期待美丽的艺术、精彩的故事，以及一些出人意料地难回答的问题。我们会一起发现，一个博物馆展柜背后，究竟能藏着多少历史。