Law, crime and regulation

The Advertising Standards Authority has said auctioneers need to be clearer when presenting their commission rates.

The government consultation on the ivory trade will kick off in the new year with plans to begin the crackdown on ivory dated post-1947 from March.

The Advertising Standards Authority has unveiled new guidance for auctioneers following an investigation into the way auction houses display their commission rates.

UK regional auctioneers have defended credit card fees charged to buyers amid pressure from consumer campaign groups to slash charges.

A suspected antique libation cup is among €100,000 worth of goods seized during a raid in Ireland.

A temporary export bar has been placed on a rare Wedgwood vase in the hope £482,500 can be raised to keep it in the UK.

A suspected antiques scammer faced court accused of taking antiques worth more than £650,000 from elderly people.

Dallas based Heritage Auctions is suing a Christie’s-owned firm in the US over alleged data theft.

MP and BADA president Victoria Borwick has given a passionate defence of the antique ivory trade in Parliament, strongly arguing against a total ban.

The earliest and most detailed depiction of Henry VIII’s famed lost Palace of Nonsuch will soon be on public display after The Victoria & Albert Museum saved it for the nation.

The Van Gogh Museum has issued an extraordinary public rebuttal to the release of ‘Vincent van Gogh: The Lost Arles Sketchbook’, criticising the authors for their “excessively easy going attitude… towards questions of authenticity”.

The Los Angeles Superior Court has upheld California’s uncompromising ban on the sale of most ivory objects.

A sixth arrest has been made by police investigating the murder of antiques dealer Robyn Mercer.

London’s Mayor Gallery has filed a complaint in New York state court claiming the Agnes Martin foundation acted wrongly when rejecting works submitted for authentication.

Sotheby’s has bought scientific research specialist Orion Analytical to "help to make the art market a safer place".

Leading trade bodies are voicing concerns that a revised EU consultation into the illicit trafficking of antiquities could lead to a “burdensome” new import licence system.

The Antiquities Dealers’ Association says the wording of the Cultural Property bill currently passing through Parliament ‘risks serious damage’ to the market and exposes members of the trade to an “unfair” risk of prosecution.

A Superior Court judge in Los Angeles has heard the legal arguments that challenge California’s uncompromising ban on the sale of practically all ivory objects.

Politicians and trade bodies have raised further concerns over how a new Cultural Property Bill could impact the art market.

Police are appealing for information following a theft at Polesden Lacey House, a National Trust property in Surrey.