Law, crime and regulation

Rising costs in the wake of the government ban on credit card fees are forcing auctioneers to end card transactions or consider raising buyer’s premium.

MADAM – The government’s desire to enact a ban on the UK trade in ivory, including antique ivory, means that they can publicly demonstrate they have stood up to the ivory lobby and ‘bravely’ taken action in the cause of saving the elephant while, at the same time, avoiding the action that they should have taken.

MADAM – May I please offer three cheers to your correspondent, Edric van Vredenburgh, who has put his finger firmly on a fundamental flaw in our government’s proposed new legislation on ivory (ATG No 2337).

MADAM – John Lewis’ letter (ATG No 2341) in which the chairman of the Public Monuments & Sculpture Association reveals he is seeking counsel’s opinion, in respect of a legal challenge to the proposed ivory trade ban, raises three key questions:

MADAM – We have been following the ivory debate in your pages with anxious concern, in spite of being specialists in vernacular, naive and folk art, whose business would rarely be directly impacted by the near-total ivory ban planned by the government.

A campaign to raise funds for legal advice on the government’s ivory ban proposals has received “a positive response”, according to dealer body BADA, which is organising the endeavour on behalf of the antiques sector.

Trade bodies whose members will be affected by the government’s plan for a near-total UK ban on the sale of ivory are seeking legal advice on challenging the proposals before they become law.

The British Hallmarking Council (BHC) has decided that hallmarks struck offshore by UK assay offices should be different to those applied in the UK.

MADAM – The Public Monuments & Sculpture Association shares many of the concerns which have been expressed in your letters pages since the last statements from Defra on the ivory issue.

MADAM – Michael Baggott’s recent letter about the potential adverse impact of the ivory sales ban on the display of ivory pieces by museums is, with respect, misguided.

MADAM – I have been dealing in Oriental antiques for almost 50 years and have been a supporter of the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) for most of this time.

I was consulted by an art dealer who bought a painting at auction which turned out to belong to someone other than the vendor. The painting went back to the true owner, the consignor to the auction was not worth suing, but did we have a case against the auctioneer?