Ivory: ‘African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015’
On 15 July, Senators Steve Daines [R-MT] and Lamar Alexander [R-TN] introduced into Congress a wide-ranging Bill aimed at halting the over-regulation of ‘legal ivory’. If adopted the Bill would specifically end what is, in effect, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s unilateral ban on the import of lawfully possessed ivory. Impediments to internal trade and legitimate ownership would also be overturned. Equally, the Bill would lead to significant efforts being funded to assist anti-poaching efforts in countries with at risk elephant populations.
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Sybella Bullock (1805-1850): her prize medal of 1825 re-discovered
Sybella Bullock was a daughter of the entrepreneur and showman William Bullock (1773-1849), and the niece of the sculptor, designer and cabinet maker George Bullock (1782/83-1818). Such little information as is known of Sybella Bullock’s life can be gleaned…
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News from London
As July begins, it finally feels like summer. The art market is entering its end-of-season phase, but here in London, at least, things will remain active for several more weeks. In what a modernist architect perceptively described to me as…
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Masterpiece 2015: the lure of luxury in London
Masterpiece looks set, once again, to achieve its ambition of presenting a luscious array of luxurious objects to lighten the chill of a London summer. The weekend saw a building site being transformed into a glamorous shop window for works…
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Furniture and Works of Art, 2015: now online
In the middle of last week we received a pallet-load of cartons containing the latest edition of our annual publication Furniture and Works of Art; it is ‘sage green’ this year, for those who always refer to these by the…
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Summer in London: our new catalogue, and Masterpiece
As June approaches, the traditional art market in London will once again be centre stage. We are about to send out the 2015 edition of our annual catalogue Furniture and Works of Art. This year we include a cup and…
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Instagram: eye-catching thoughts on the move
In circumstances that are beyond ridiculous, I recently lost my BlackBerry somewhere between New York and Chicago. So, following years of lobbying by Clive Wilson (responsible for this website) I have been persuaded to move on to an iPhone. I…
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Ivory: no closer to an outbreak of common sense in the US?
Mirror Back, French (possibly Paris), 1350-75. Metropolitan Museum of Art There are still no signs of a pragmatic dialogue on the impact of Director’s Order 210 (February 2014) breaking out in the public arena. The fact that there are ‘sides’…
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‘Some Silver by John Hardman & Co for Charles Lygon Cocks’: a new discovery
In 1996, the Decorative Arts Society Journal (20) published Martin Levy, ‘Some Silver by John Hardman & Co for Charles Lygon Cocks’ (pp. 1-10). The article discusses silver supplied to various members of the Cocks family, and in depth a…
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A weekend in Maastricht: preparing for TEFAF 2015
We left London in a somewhat relaxed mood, after breakfast at the incomparable Little Bread Pedlar, but then our Eurotunnel crossing was delayed. Some two hours later than scheduled, however, we arrived in the MECC to find that the indefatigable…
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TEFAF, 2015: we are on our way
Creating stands for art fairs never loses its appeal. Each March, by the time ‘Maastricht’ comes around, we will have spent the previous twelve months or more gathering together a group of fresh objects that we can present in a…
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Ivory: a ray of sunshine from Alaska
A bipartisan bill was introduced into the House of Representatives yesterday to protect lawful ivory possession. ‘… the legislation, the African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possesion Act of 2015, would effectively end the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s unilateral…
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News from New York: WAS was a wow!
The Winter Antiques Show (WAS) drew to a close on Sunday evening. The fair has been a huge pleasure: well organised, well attended, and active. The atmosphere between the exhibitors is collegial, with constant conversation and laughter. Business was done…
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The Winter Antiques Show: a warm welcome to New York
Sunday was one of those New York days when to be out on the streets was to be soaked to the skin. It just rained and rained. Still, having enjoyed a couple of rewarding hours at the Blind Pig, it…
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A Gordon Russell ‘Writing Desk’, 1925
Although the popular view prevails that English Arts & Crafts period design derives from the vernacular tradition, the story has, in fact, always been more nuanced. Stephen Baker, in a perceptive article ‘Gimson’s Cotswold Furniture and its London Origins’ (Apollo, January…
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Ivory: the debate on the USA’s ban continues, but with inadequate progress
It is nearly ten months since President Obama’s executive order heralded a de facto ban in the USA on the import of works of art made of, or containing ivory. Now, in some administrative and political circles, it is increasingly understood that the applauded effort to stamp out the trade in tusks from the endangered African elephant has had an unfair and unintended impact on the commercial movement of historic works of art.
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