Chiswick Auctions have become the first UK saleroom to stop almost all sales of ivory, regardless of age, the Antiques Trade Gazette has reported.
The decision comes in wake of the auction house’s £4,500 fine, imposed by Ealing Magistrates Court, for breaching CITES regulations when they sold an 'antique carved ivory tusk’, that actually came from an elephant that had died in the mid-1960s.
The auction house acknowledged an error of professional judgment, and the need for additional vigilance. The fine was reduced to £3,200 on account of the guilty plea.
Chiswick managing director William Rouse has told ATG he will now ‘lead the way’ in ending the trade.
The self-imposed ban will be almost total, although it will exclude items - such as a chest of drawers with an inlaid ivory escutcheon - "where the total amount of ivory is less than five percent of the total material in the object".
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!