Law, crime and regulation

THE Society of London Art Dealers (SLAD) have reinforced the claim by the British Antique Dealers Association that the extension of the Artist’s Resale Right next year will have a significant effect on business.

A SCULPTURE has been returned to its former home more than 70 years after it was looted during the Blitz from a bombed London church.

INDIVIDUALS buying and selling goods over the internet are to be targeted in the latest crackdown by the taxman.

AUCTIONEERS in the south east of England are advised to exercise particular vigilance after a spate of saleroom break-ins.

HASLEMERE in Surrey has fallen victim to a gang targeting silver for melt, two weeks after thieves stole a rhino head from the town’s museum.

THIS bronze Zinfandel by equestrian sculptor Adrian Jones (1845-1938) was stolen earlier this month from a private house in Surrey.

THE Portable Antiquities Scheme has recorded a 36 per cent increase in finds since improving its database in 2010 and making it easier to register discoveries.

A THEFT of a rhino head from a museum in Surrey is thought to have been motivated by the hugely valuable trade in rhino horn.

A house clearer has won a High Court battle to regain possession of a pair of medieval embroideries thought to be worth millions after a longstanding dispute with a fine art specialist.

BONHAMS are to work with Cranfield University in Bedfordshire with the aim of making new technological advancements for authenticating porcelain more accessible for use in the art market.

THE day after bullion prices peaked, thieves broke into an antiques centre in Cardiff and escaped with a haul of antique silver valued at thousands of pounds.

ANTIQUES fairs will be able to continue at Swinderby for some time, despite the site’s prospective development as a gravel pit.

THE owner of a tearoom in Horncastle, Lincolnshire claims he is a victim of bureaucracy after he was told he could face prosecution for selling antiques from the premises.

BUDGET proposals to encourage art giving by discounting inheritance tax could actually damage wider philanthropy says a specialist law firm.

FRENCH auction houses have toughened their stance on Chinese bidders after a series of well-publicised problems with non-payment.

A £5000 reward has been offered for the return of the stock of Somerset jewellers Joseph Leonard, which was stolen in a raid on March 28.

A MAN who stole antiques worth more than £1.2m from country houses across the country has been jailed for nine years.

THE latest imports and exports figures have shown a major recovery in the value of art and antiques traded annually between the UK and overseas.

DETERMINING whether something is an artwork or not is at the centre of an appeal to the UK Supreme Court in a copyright dispute between Star Wars producer George Lucas and one of his former prop makers.

ON the evening of Tuesday, March 1 thieves broke into Willingham Auctions and stole four fruit-decorated Royal Worcester vases.