It followed a Facebook campaign that said: “UK auction houses and market stallholders are still openly selling ivory, with no documented proof of the items’ age.
“They are breaking the law and allowing new ivory to enter the market. The UK has no system in place to date ivory other than antique dealers/auctioneers making judgement to the piece's age themselves even though most have no formal training.”
The Salisbury auctioneers – whose sale on May 18 included around 40 lots of worked antique ivory, none of it later than the Meiji period – took the opportunity to engage with the protesters. Chairman Paul Viney, who gave a spirited defence of the firm’s adherence to CITES legislation, showed them a silver teapot with ivory insulators on the handle, to explain the issues arising from any blanket ban on ivory.
