Philip Davis & Graham Ludlam muse on the rights and liabilities associated with hidden treasures
In the art world there have been a number of recent high profile sales in which auctioneers have made what might politely be called “errors of judgment”, potentially opening themselves up to a variety of claims.
In January this year an item catalogued by Lawrences auctioneers in Somerset as a 19th century French claret jug, with an estimate of £100–£200 was sold at auction to an anonymous buyer for £220,000. Reports quickly followed that the purchaser believed the jug to be an 11th century Fatimid ewer with a market value significantly greater than the hammer price. Specialist dealers described the find as the “Holy Grail” and possibly the biggest sleeper ever to appear on the Islamic art market. Last month the “jug” was auctioned by Christie’s in London and fetched in excess of £3m. It had been authenticated by experts as a carved rock crystal ewer made for the court of the Fatimid rulers of Cairo
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