Law, crime and regulation

Trade body leaders and dealers have given a collective thumbs up to the new Conservative government’s pledge to slash small business rates by half.

A further two Victorian animal troughs have been stolen in south London, following four that went missing in September.

A lawyer acting for a group challenging the Ivory Act has said the Conservatives’ win of a House of Commons majority in last week’s general election will have no bearing on the outcome of a Court of Appeal hearing in the New Year.

Auction house Sotheby’s has won its case against Fairlight Art Ventures, the former business partner of Old Master picture dealer Mark Weiss, over a Frans Hals (1582-1666) painting that the auction house now deems is a fake.

Bronze Age Foundry in Limehouse, London, is the first foundry in the UK to adopt a new bronze hallmarking scheme.

Dresden’s Royal Palace has been targeted by thieves who cut the electricity supply to enter exhibition rooms at its museum containing thousands of valuable antiques.

Dealers and collectors granted an appeal against a High Court ruling on the Ivory Act 2018 are redoubling their efforts to raise the necessary funds for legal fees.

The memorial clock on the outside of the boathouse of the Dittons Skiff and Punting Club in Thames Ditton has been stolen and members have appealed to the antiques trade to help find it.

A High Court judge has granted dealers and collectors permission to take their Ivory Act 2018 challenge to the Court of Appeal, a move that could delay the law’s enforcement into spring next year.

Sculptures of Buddha dating from the 4th-6th centuries smuggled out of Afghanistan nearly 20 years ago have finally been returned to the country’s national museum.

Christie’s has been praised for its stance on US tariffs on Chinese art after it became the first art market firm to seek exclusion from the tax, part of the ongoing trade war between the US and China. Late in October, Christie’s applied for exemption from a “punishing” import tax on seven types of Chinese art.