Export Licences

An 18th century watercolour by the artist who John Constable described as a genius has been barred from export in the hope a UK buyer can be found.

A ‘colossal and extraordinary grotesque grinning crab’ by the Martin Brothers that sold at auction last year has been temporarily barred from export from the UK.

Writers’ association English PEN has launched a campaign to raise the £56,250 needed to buy the judge's copy of 'Lady Chatterley’s Lover' that has been barred from export.

The government has temporarily stopped the export of the judge's copy of 'Lady Chatterley’s Lover' from the infamous obscenity trial.

The government is hoping to find a buyer for four works - three rugs and a painted screen - by Francis Bacon (1909-92) in the hope of keeping them in the country.

A sketch by Dutch artist Lucas van Leyden (1494-1533) has been temporarily blocked from export in the hope of finding a UK buyer.

The notebooks of Charles Darwin’s mentor, the Scottish geologist Sir Charles Lyell (1797-1875), have been temporarily blocked from export in the hope of finding a UK buyer.

A 16th century marquetry casket long in the collection of Scotland’s Newbattle Abbey has been placed under export bar in a bid to keep it in the country.

A rare 350-year-old cabinet made by Baroque craftsman Giacomo Herman (1615-85) has been temporarily barred from export by the UK government in the hope it will be bought by a buyer in the UK.

A pair of ‘champagne’ lamps designed by surrealist artist Salvador Dalí has been bought by the Victoria and Albert Museum and will be reunited with Dalí’s Mae West Lips sofa.

The owner of a £5.75m John Singer Sargent oil painting has been temporarily prevented from exporting the picture by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The owner of a handwritten page from Charles Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’ has been temporarily prevented from exporting it out of the UK by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

A south Indian Bidri pear-shaped tray dating from the 17th century has been temporarily blocked from export from the UK by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

CITES-listed natural history specimens will no longer be able to pass through Dover or the Eurotunnel in the event of a No deal Brexit, the government has warned.

The owner of an 18th century double-manual harpsichord, the only one of its type known to exist, has been temporarily prevented from exporting the instrument by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The government is launching a consultation on the future of the export system for art, antiques and antiquities, with the aim of forcing owners to ‘honour their commitment’ to sell when a matching offer is made from a UK buyer.

The UK government has issued an export bar for JMW Turner’s ‘Walton Bridges’, valued at £3.4m.