Germany’s proposal for a new law to stop national treasures from leaving the country may have provoked the opposite reaction, as collectors are believed to be pre-emptively selling or moving swathes of important works of art across the border.
Five pieces by the German Expressionist August Macke were put up for sale at Lempertz on 27 November as a direct consequence of the planned legislation, says Henrik Hanstein, the owner of the Cologne-based auction house. The works had been on loan to museums in Freiburg, Bonn and Münster. Hanstein says that the artist’s heirs consigned the works because they could have lost “two-thirds of their value” if they were listed as national treasures next year. He estimates that art worth €100m has already been moved to Belgium.
“If cultural authorities knew how much art has been taken out of the country, it would bring tears to their eyes,” says Robert Ketterer, the owner of the German auction house Ketterer Kunst. “There is no collector who owns works that fall within the law’s categories who hasn’t thought about taking them out of Germany. I know the discussions very well: I have them every day.”
Wave of protest
Monika Grütters, Germany’s minister of culture, released a draft bill for a new cultural property law on 1 October. But earlier versions, which were leaked in the summer, had already started a wave of protest from the German art trade.
The bill aims to curb the import of illegal antiquities into Germany but also imposes much stricter controls on the export of works of art. Under the new law, any painting more than 70 years old and valued at more than €300,000 will require an export licence, even within the European Union. Licences for works deemed national treasures would not be granted. But unlike other major European countries, Germany would not match the funds an overseas buyer is prepared to pay—a major bone of contention for collectors and dealers.
“There is great insecurity among private collectors, even though the law hasn’t even passed yet,” Hanstein says. “I wouldn’t buy a Turner in England if I couldn’t export it.”
Siegmund Ehrmann, the chairman of the German Bundestag’s committee for culture and media and one of the architects of the bill, says the German art trade is a “flourishing industry” that greatly benefits from international trade. To what extent the planned legislation contributed to an exodus of cultural goods to other European countries “cannot be safely estimated”, he says, but he adds that “the concerns seem exaggerated”.
Germany’s cabinet approved the bill in November and it will now be debated in parliament. It is expected to pass into law next spring.