Permit alert in event of no deal
Trade associations are urging their members to apply for the required permit to continue importing and exporting with EU countries ahead of a possible Brexit on October 31.
Should the UK leave the EU without a deal, an Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number will be needed to make customs declarations and comply with other regulations from 11pm on Thursday, October 31. Registration via the UK government is free but can take up to three days.
Delivery alert
Meanwhile, fine art shipper Gander & White has warned clients that European shipments “could be subject to last-minute changes, delays and/or cancellations from October 2019”.
It will also no longer be able to handle the import and export of items subject to CITES rules, “as Dover and Folkestone will not be equipped to handle these shipments”.
Defra has said objects containing ivory, tortoiseshell etc must be sent through smaller designated UK ports after Brexit.
Railway museum buys Emett work
A sculpture by the designer behind the car in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has been bought by the National Railway Museum in York. The 26ft (8m) long kinetic sculpture by Rowland Emett (1906-90), who designed the magical car in the 1960s film, was sold by Bonhams for a six-figure sum.
A detail of the Rowland Emett kinetic sculpture bought in a private deal by the National Railway Museum.
A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley had been set to be auctioned on September 3 at Bonhams with a top estimate of £300,000 but was withdrawn due to the private sale to the museum. The price was undisclosed.
Conference call for more arts funding
A call for more funding for the arts and education was one of the themes of the 2019 Art Business Conference on September 4. The Victoria and Albert Museum’s Tristram Hunt, Contemporary art dealer Thaddaeus Ropac and Elaine Bedell, CEO of the Southbank Centre, were among the speakers at the event held in Westminster.
Australian ivory trade ban proposed
The Australian ministry for culture has committed to closing the country’s domestic market for elephant ivory and rhino horn in a move that could restrict the trade of antique objects containing ivory within the country.
Delegates for the country announced the decision at the recent CITES conference in Geneva. Australia already complies with CITES regulations for import and export of all materials on Appendix I. However, the ban did not stretch to the trade in objects imported or acquired before the species were listed by CITES.
Keren Lewis, general manager of the Australian Antiques & Art Dealers Association (AAADA), told ATG that as part of the consultation process it appeared before the Joint Parliamentary committee last year and will remain in discussion with the minister for the environment over the next steps. These include exemptions, recommendations for which include a de minimis exemption for items content of less than 10% and made prior to 1975 and portrait miniatures produced 100 years or more prior to the domestic trade ban coming into force.
A review of the recent AAADA fair is on page 38.
Auction house’s US shipping offer
Auction house Fellows is offering free shipping to all US customers for items purchased from its sales during September. This is to encourage buyers from the States to “capitalise on the favourable strength of the dollar”.
Auctions coming up include Fine Jewellery on September 12, Antiques, Silver and Collectables (16th), Jewellery (19th), Watches (23rd) and its Designer Collection (30th).
Gallery makes name change
Alan Cristea Gallery has changed its name to Cristea Roberts Gallery in recognition of the 20-year partnership between directors Alan Cristea and David Cleaton-Roberts.
David Cleaton-Roberts and Alan Cristea of Cristea Roberts Gallery. Photo: Maxwell Anderson.
The Pall Mall firm publishes original prints and editions working with international artists and estates.
It also represents the drawings and paintings for several figures in the UK.
Cristea previously headed Leslie Waddington’s print gallery and opened his own business in 1995. Cleaton-Roberts joined in 1998 and became director in 2004. Kathleen Dempsey and Helen Waters are also directors.
Most read
The most viewed stories for week August 29-September 4 on antiquestradegazette.com
1 Sir Rod Stewart’s collection under the hammer again – Essex house move means more lots come to auction at Sworders
2 Bought for £1 in a charity shop, will Chinese vase be worth £80,000?
3 Mask ‘matches Crosby Garrett find’
4 Rare late Anglo-Saxon and early Norman conquest coin hoard discovered in Somerset valued at £4m
5 A new face at Dreweatts is among the latest Movers and Shakers across the art and antiques sector
In Numbers
400
The number of years this rare early-17th century bronze bust has been in the same family, direct descendants of the sitter, French statesman Paul Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain. Read more here.
The 17th century bronze bust of the statesman Paul Phélypeaux de Pontchartrain attributed to Francesco Bordoni to be offered by De Baecque at Drouot on November 20. Image copyright : DeBeacque/Drouot.
