London’s market for Islamic art stays strong

Provenance continues to be one of the main challenges affecting the market for Islamic art. To sell a work, an auction house now needs properly documented, rather than simply reasonable, proof of exit from its country of origin prior to a threshold year that has been set out in legislation. This is designed to prevent illicit trade and looting.
While adherence to the act is welcome, the new government of Egypt has been challenging sales wildly over the past 18 months, allegedly even claiming th