Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art

The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA) is a committee of the United Kingdom government, advising the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the export of cultural property. Some of its roles were shifted to the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) in 2005 after the Goodison Report and the Arts Council England now provides the secretariat to the Committee. It is currently chaired by Andrew Hochhauser.

If an artwork is sold to a foreign buyer, it also advises the DCMS on whether to delay the granting of an export licence in order to allow time for a British buyer to raise funds to buy the work instead and keep it in the UK, if the committee decides the work is of high enough quality and has a sufficiently significant British connection - this is known as an export bar.

Waverley Criteria

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The RCEWA was established in 1952, in accordance with the recommendations of the Waverley Committee, and assesses the objects before it against the three "Waverley Criteria":[1]

  • Is it closely connected with our history and national life?
  • Is it of outstanding aesthetic importance?
  • Is it of outstanding significance for the study of some particular branch of art, learning or history?

The Committee designates an object as a "national treasure" if it considers that its departure from the UK would be a misfortune on one or more of the above three grounds,[2]

Chair

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Reviewing Committee: How decisions are made". Arts Council England. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  2. ^ Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest. "Export of Objects of Cultural Interest 2020-21" (PDF). Arts Council England. Arts Council. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  3. ^ R. A. B. ButlerChancellor of the Exchequer (9 December 1952). "Export of Works of Art (Government Decision)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. col. 38W.
  4. ^ Lord Strabolgi (15 March 1973). "Works of Art: Export Control". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Lords. col. 493.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "The Earl of Perth". The Independent. 30 November 2002. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  6. ^ Hugh Jenkins, MP for Putney (28 October 1976). "Works of Art (Export)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. col. 842.
  7. ^ "Plymouth, Earl of (UK, 1905)". Cracroft's Peerage. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  8. ^ Fisher, Mark (1 June 2013). "Jonathan Scott CBE, FSA (1940–2012)". The Sculpture Journal. 22 (1). doi:10.3828/sj.2013.10. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017.
  9. ^ "UK Export Licensing For Cultural Goods" (PDF). Department for Culture, Media and Sport. 28 February 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2003. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Export of Objects of Cultural Interest 2011/12" (PDF). Department for Culture, Media and Sport. December 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  11. ^ "New appointment to the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest". Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  12. ^ "Andrew Hochhauser QC appointed as Chair of RCEWA". Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. 17 August 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
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