Posted on: November 29, 2013 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
Following the auction sale in Hong Kong of the Riesco Collection, Maurice Davies of the Museums Association has criticised the UK’s export licensing system as “arcane, even archaic”. Davies asserted that “the Riesco items were cleared speedily for export, and granted a permanent export license even though it was widely known that the items were destined […]
Posted on: by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
The introduction of a revised bill for the Equity for Visual Artists Act, which would introduce into US law the artist’s resale right (droit de suite) was announced at a meeting of the International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR) in New York on 25th November. The original bill, “to amend the copyright law to secure the […]
Posted on: by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
The Cypriot antiquities department has announced the return of approximately 170 religious artefacts stolen from churches in the north of the island following the Turkish invasion – said to be the largest number of cultural objects ever repatriated. The antiquities, which consist of icons, mosaics and fragments of wall paintings, were found in the possession of Turkish […]
Posted on: November 26, 2013 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
The High Court in London has adjourned until early next year proceedings in the legal battle over where the remains of Richard III should be buried. Members of the Plantagenet Alliance are challenging the decision to reinter the bones in Leicester Cathedral and wish to have him buried in York Minster. The judicial review proceedings […]
Posted on: November 18, 2013 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
In 2013 several of the major international conventions for the protection of cultural property have witnessed a growth in the number of ratifications and acceptances. The First and Second Protocols to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict have been ratified by New Zealand (which ratified the main […]
Posted on: November 15, 2013 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
Following reports of widespread damage and looting at cultural heritage sites in Syria, ICOM (the International Council of Museums) has published the Emergency Red List of Syrian Cultural Objects at Risk with the aim of helping art and heritage professionals and law enforcement officials identify Syrian objects that are protected by national and international legislations. In […]
Posted on: November 13, 2013 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
Campaigners seeking a judicial review of the decision of Croydon Council to sell 24 items from its Riesco collection have withdrawn their challenge owing to lack of funds. The sale is now set to go ahead on later this month and is expected to raise around £14 million. The Council has argued that the money […]
Posted on: November 12, 2013 by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
Two paintings by George Stubbs sold at auction in February this year have been saved for the nation following the imposition by the DCMS of a temporary bar on their export. The paintings, dating back to 1773, of a dingo and a kangaroo sold for £5.5m and were the first depictions of these animals in […]
Posted on: by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
‘Human Remains and the Law’ – 13th December 2013 – London A one-day conference with the generous support of the Natural History Museum The treatment of human remains, whether contained in museum collections or discovered during the course of building or other works, gives rise to a host of moral, ethical and legal issues. Should […]
Posted on: by Ruth Redmond-Cooper
The Adelaide which is the oldest surviving composite clipper ship in the World having been built in Sunderland in 1864, is now expected to be exported to Australia despite a huge campaign to keep it here. The ship (which was Listed as Grade A in Scotland and is older than the Cutty Sark), was formerly in the collection of the […]