Since the beginning of civilisation, artists have created works of beauty. And since that time these pieces of national culture have also vanished from the nations that created them. Sometimes, private individuals are responsible. Smuggling and trading in illegal art and treasure is big business and worth billions of dollars a year. The dealers buy stolen goods from a country and quickly ship them abroad. Then, to sell them, they must have historical documents for the objects which say where they were made and who owned them. If the artefact is stolen, then they have to create a fake history for it.