Chippendale damaged

SIR – “Chippendale masterpiece stripped of ivory before Christie’s sale,” you report (August 29). Even as it stands, the unsatisfactory Ivory Bill currently passing through Parliament would not have prevented this Chippendale masterpiece being offered on the open market, in its original form.

The removal of its ivory was, as you state, entirely as a result of harmful rules introduced by the United States in 2014.

However, it is to be hoped that this vandalism of a work of art made by this country’s most famous cabinet maker will encourage Parliament to pause for thought.

The Bill to protect the endangered elephant will doubtless pass into law. But regulations must be set to allow proper recognition and circulation of our cultural inheritance that happens to contain or be made of ivory.

Martin P Levy

H Blairman & Sons London W1