Law, crime and regulation

A Derby porcelain plaque and two Japanese plates have been returned by Surrey Police to two stately homes after they were recognised from an alert in Antiques Trade Gazette

An appeal to buy Van Dyck’s final self-portrait for the nation, painted in England in 1640-41, has been given a boost by the news that a lower price is expected.

The French courts have asked the European Court of Justice to rule on whether auctioneers can be prevented from passing on the Artist’s Resale Right charge to buyers.

An appeal court ruling on the tax status of Sir Joshua Reynolds’ masterpiece ‘Omai’ means that a number of very rich people are likely to get a bit richer.

Leading specialists in the trade are actively seeking a solution that supports the ban on ivory without destroying valuable artefacts created often hundreds of years ago.

Recent reports suggest the number of copied Lowry prints in circulation is increasing.

One of two men who robbed an antiques dealer of a rhino horn in an attack which left the victim in hospital for weeks has been jailed.

A ban on the commercial trade in elephant ivory “except in a very limited number of circumstances” announced by the USA this month promises far-reaching consequences for the antiques trade.

The British Antique Dealers’ Association, LAPADA and the National Antique and Art Dealers’ Association of America are taking the February 11 White House statement on ivory very seriously.

A 53-year-old man has been charged following a break-in at Shapes auction house in the west of Edinburgh last year.

The trade have alerted ATG to the latest scam guide trying to con dealers into paying thousands of pounds for useless advertising.

The latest report from the Department of Culture Media and Sport shows that of 12,089 export licence applications for 51,606 works of art from May 2012 to April 2013, just 28 cases were referred to the Export Reviewing Committee by experts.

A Paris auction firm has been banned from holding sales for nine months and two of its auctioneers suspended for three months following a disciplinary hearing by the government body appointed to oversee auction practice in France.

The Spanish government have cut the tax on sales of works of art by more than half from 21% to 10% as a means of boosting trade.

More than 80 lots of Danish rosewood furniture were withdrawn from Sworder’s January 28 sale of Decorative Art and Design after advice that their sale contravened the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.

Two men will appear for trial at Reading Crown Court on February 3 following the investigation into former Midgham-based Cameo Fine Art Auctioneers.

A renewed appeal for information has been made after part of a medieval burial stone was stolen in Herefordshire as thieves targeting church monuments seem to have become active again.

The New York Court of Appeals has overturned a decision that could have forced the state’s auctioneers to make public the names of their consignors.

Antique jewellery worth around £40,000 has been taken after a break-in at Shapes auctioneers in Edinburgh.