APPENDIX B
Extract from Christie's Staff Handbook
THE SALE
OF EXPORTED
WORKS OF
ART
The laws governing the export of works of art
vary widely throughout the world. Some countries restrict the
export of all but the most insignificant works, while others allow
freedom for the owner to take his work of art from one country
to another. The Company is an international company that has offices
and clients in most countries. It is the policy of the Company
to observe the laws and regulations of all countries where it
operates.
All clients selling through the Company are
required to sign the Company's Consignment Agreement, in which
the vendor undertakes that he has complied with all requirements
relating to export and import. The Company therefore makes it
a condition of accepting a lot for sale that the owner has observed
national regulations.
In order to carry out our policy:
— The Company representatives in all
countries must be familiar with their local export regulations;
— The Company's local offices should,
whenever possible, be responsible for applying for an export licence
on behalf of the vendor;
— In order to avoid any accusation
of inducing a client to act unlawfully, a specialist or representative
giving an open market valuation in a country where the existence
of restrictive export rules may lead to a discrepancy between
the domestic and worldwide value, must advise the owner that the
open market value given is dependant on obtaining an export licence;
— Specialists visiting a foreign country
must inform the local company office of their plans. Under no
circumstances must they either offer or agree to hand-carry a
client's property across a national border, unless it is accompanied
by the correct paperwork, which would have to be approved by the
senior member of staff in the exporting country. Any proposal
to export an item for sale must be referred to the local company
office; and
— There may be occasions when, notwithstanding
the client's undertaking in the Consignment Agreement, reasonable
grounds exist for suspecting that an object consigned for sale
has been illegally exported. Anyone with such a suspicion must
report it quickly to the Head of Department and to the Legal Department.
There must be no delay in getting the Legal Department involved.
STOLEN ART
The Company does not sell property where there
are reasonable grounds to suspect that it has been stolen.
All clients selling through the Company are
required to sign the Company's Consignment Agreement giving his/her
name and address, which, for new clients without the Company's
client numbers should be verified and recorded. In the Consignment
Agreement, the vendor warrants that he has good title to the property.
Although it is extremely unlikely that a stolen
work of art is brought to the Company directly by the thief, it
is possible that a bona fide vendor consigns property for sale
that was in the past stolen.
In order to take all reasonable steps to avoid
the inadvertent sale of a stolen work of art the following procedures
are in place:
— All Company catalogues are sent to
the Art Loss Register (ALR). The ALR checks catalogue descriptions
against its database of stolen property. If a possible match is
found the ALR alerts the Company's Director of Group Security
who will investigate it further and inform the Department concerned;
— If a member of the Company's staff
has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a work of art has been
stolen, he should report such suspicions to the Director of Group
Security who will take responsibility for investigating it and
informing the police and vendor.
May 2000
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