Tag Archives: Customs

An art market without rules? The new Freeport opportunity in the UK

Posted on: April 15, 2021 by Eve Gatenby

“Our clients choose us because we have no priority above their property,” remarks the guide touring Robert Pattinson and John David Washington’s characters through a freeport in Christopher Nolan’s 2020 thriller Tenet. The underground vaults they are walking through are alluringly filled with artworks that give subtle hints at Impressionist and Abstract Expressionist masterpieces. These two characters […]

Report on Brexit seminar

Posted on: February 17, 2021 by Alexander Herman

Last week, we were happy to run a seminar called ‘Brexit, legal changes and the art world’ in conjunction with the London firm of Hunters Law LLP. The topic is obviously one of great interest these days as the UK grapples with a post-EU existence. There were a number of important changes that were brought […]

The US – China Trade War… and why it matters for the art world

Posted on: September 6, 2018 by Julia Rodrigues Casella Hommes

In the latest of a series of controversial decisions for which the Trump administration has become renowned, the US Government has raised the stakes in the ongoing trade war with China with the result that 25% tariffs are now being applied on what is reported to be $16bn worth of imports on both sides. At […]

UK Customs seizure of looted Libyan statue

Posted on: October 22, 2015 by Janet Ulph

A dispute over a highly attractive marble statue sparked headlines in the national press in early September 2015. It had been seized by Customs officers and kept in the British Museum for safekeeping during the legal proceedings. The District Judge, John Zani, had examined the statue there before coming to a decision that it had been […]

Temporary export hold on rare Rembrandt portrait

Posted on: October 19, 2015 by Alexander Herman

Rembrandt’s late career Portrait of Catrina Hooghsaet is the subject of the UK Culture Minister’s latest export licence deferral. The painting, which had been in the collection of the Welsh aristocratic Douglas-Pennant family, was reported to have been sold earlier this year for £35 million. An export licence has been sought, but the Minister, based upon […]

Da Vinci Portrait seized from vault in Switzerland

Posted on: February 11, 2015 by Nina M. Neuhaus

The Swiss police have seized a 61 x 45.5cm oil painting depicting the marquise Isabella d’Este from a vault of a trust company in Lugano, the southern part of Switzerland bordering Italy. Isabella d’Este, an influential figure in arts and politics during the Italian Renaissance, allegedly commissioned the portrait from Leonardo da Vinci. The portrait, […]

Switzerland: Repatriation of 150 Ancient Coins to Serbia

Posted on: August 4, 2014 by Nina M. Neuhaus

The Facts In May 2014, the Specialized Body for the International Transfer of Cultural Property at the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (‘Specialized Body‘) handed over 150 Roman coins to Serbia. The majority of these coins date from the 4th century A.D. and are made of bronze. Following their illegal excavation in Serbia, the coins were […]