Law, crime and regulation

TWO men have been charged with handling stolen goods following the recovery of a number of pictures from the Halewood area of Liverpool.

THE US Appeals Court has upheld the New York District Court ruling in Christie’s favour in the dispute over a long-lost work thought to be by Leonardo da Vinci.

ENCOURAGING words from Downing Street and Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt in the past year gave us hope that finally something would be done about the impending threat to the British art market of the extension of the Artists’ Resale Right to the estates of artists who have been dead for less than 70 years.

EBAY users are being warned of a new scam that targets sellers who allow buyers to collect items in person.

THEFTS of old rhino horn trophies, wanted for their value in Chinese medicine, are continuing.

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.