New rules aimed at protecting UK museums and galleries from losing valuable items to overseas buyers will be introduced from January 1, the Government has said.
Under the current system, a pause in the export of national treasures overseas can be ordered by the Culture Minister to give UK museums and buyers the chance to raise funds to keep them in the country.
If a UK institution puts in a matching offer on an item subject to an export deferral, and the owner has agreed to sell, it is down to the seller to honour that commitment.
Lawrence of Arabia’s steel and silver dagger found a home at the National Army Museum (Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport)
A new law is set to save the UK s national treasures going to overseas buyers after the National Gallery lost a £30million battle to keep a 16th Century masterpiece.
The introduction of legally binding offers from January 1, which marks the first major change in the export deferral system in more than 65 years, will mean that this can no longer happen, the Government has said.
The National Gallery raised £30 million to acquire Pontormo’s Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Cap (1530) which was subsequently pulled from sale by its owner - US hedge fund manager Tom Hill.
The National Gallery raised £30 million to acquire Pontormo’s Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Cap (1530) (pictured) which was subsequently pulled from sale by its owner - US hedge fund manager Tom Hill
Tough new rules crackdown on sellers to save important cultural items for the public
New rules will give museums and cultural institutions more protection when purchasing items for collections
From:
19 December 2020
The increased protections will help prevent some of the nation’s greatest treasures from being lost to overseas buyers
New rules will see an end to ‘gentleman’s agreement’ in first shake up of export deferral system in over 65 years
Culture Minister Caroline Dinenage has announced that new protections will be introduced for museums and galleries trying to save our most important treasures from overseas buyers.
Following a public consultation, the introduction of legally binding offers will see an end to the ‘gentleman’s agreement’ that has caused issues for UK museums and galleries when a seller pulls out at the last minute, causing fundraising efforts to be wasted and the work to be lost to public collections.
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A sledge and flag used on explorer Ernest Shackleton’s famed attempt to reach the South Pole in the early 1900s will be put on show in London and Cambridge.
The artefacts had earlier been sold at auction to an overseas buyer, leading to the British Government to impose an export ban on the artefacts due to their national importance.
The National Heritage Memorial Fund, which is funded by the Government, said on Wednesday that the items had been acquired for the nation after it awarded a £204,700 grant.
The fund was set up “to save some of the UK’s finest heritage at risk of loss”, and the items will go to two UK museums.