Let’s not ban sales of antique ivory
As this thorny topic goes before the House of Lords, Colin Gleadell explains why a ban is the wrong solution
It’s crunch time for the trade in antique ivory artworks as the House of Lords debates on Thursday which exemptions may apply to the Government’s proposed ban on ivory sales. Lord Carrington, who has requested the debate, gets to the heart of the matter when he says: “The question is how to structure exemptions which don’t allow the poached ivory market to pass off new ivory as antique.”
As the law stands, the sale of modern ivory is banned in an effort to curtail the slaughter of African elephants. The sale of antique ivory artworks, however, is permitted, because there is no direct connection between the sale of centuries-old works of art and present-day slaughter. Nevertheless, some wildlife protectionists are pressing the Government and the media for a complete ban in the trade of both the modern and the antique, arguing that an indirect link exists because the antiques trade is sometimes used as a cover for selling fakes made from newly poached ivory that has been made to look antique.
In a recent report made in support of a total ban, researchers combed Britain’s country salerooms to find evidence that modern ivory is slipping through the net, and to establish that these salerooms could not date the ivory they were selling. In the latter, at least, they were successful. But in focusing on provincial areas where there is little ivory expertise, the report loses credibility. Had it concentrated on major salerooms – Bonhams, Christie’s and Sotheby’s – and specialist dealers such as Rosemary Bandini or Paul Moss, an expert in Japanese netsuke who has written 20 books on the subject, it would likely have found confident dating procedures and a lack of fake antiques.
Another of the arguments for a total ban rests on the price of antique ivory artworks, which cements the notion that all ivory is a luxury and a status symbol. However, there is no evidence to suggest that the demand for modern ivory carvings is inspired by price. Indeed, serious antique collectors and dealers buy for the skill and beauty of the artwork rather than the material it is made from.
Everyone in the antiques trade abhors elephant slaughter. Its specialists, along with the British Antique Dealers’ Association (BADA), are backing a proposal for a system of certification on antique ivory to support exemptions. These would make it impossible for any ivory artworks to be sold in the UK without a certificate. The money earned by issuing certificates would
be used to help the war against elephant poaching. Some protectionists argue that such a system would be hard to administer, because it is difficult to distinguish between the genuinely old and the fake. Seemingly, they are inclined towards a total ban not because it is right or just, but because it is easier to administer. They should, therefore, seek out advice from the specialists.
The Government consultation period ends on Dec 29, and anyone can have their say by either filling in the relevant form online at consult. defra.gov.uk/international/banninguk-sales-of-ivory/ or by obtaining a questionnaire from International Team – Ivory Consultation, 1E Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR, or by email from ivoryconsultation@defra.gsi.gov.uk
The standout painting from last week’s Victorian art sales was an unusual work executed under the influence of Dante Gabriel Rossetti by James Smetham, better known for his Samuel Palmer-esque landscapes. The painting, of an exotically attired young mandolin player, was last on the market in 1970, when it sold for £900 to the Pre-raphaelite expert Jeremy Maas. He found an inscription on the back that led him to believe the painting was by both Smetham and Rossetti, and sold it to last week’s seller, since when the picture has never been exhibited. Now catalogued as by Smetham only, it flew past the artist’s previous auction record of £12,500 to attract multiple six-figure bids. After it sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for a new record of £475,750, leading Pre-raphaelite collector Isabel Goldsmith (eldest daughter of the late Sir James Goldsmith) acknowledged Christie’s achievement in fetching such a high price for a relatively minor artist, with a round of applause.
Art Sales returns on Jan 9