Seminars for Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific accounts for 22% of the global market. Auction sales, fairs and digital platforms are growing rapidly there, which calls for suitable regulatory frameworks and provenance verification practices.

The Singapore seminars help administrations anticipate these developments and align them with international standards.

The seminars address the certification of works, the fight against forgeries, the traceability of online sales and the control of free ports. They also cover regional specificities: Chinese antiquities, Dong Son bronzes, Khmer sculptures, Aboriginal art.

One session each year is devoted to the protection of underwater cultural heritage, which is highly exposed in the region.

Bonded warehouses facilitate the storage of valuable works but may conceal goods of doubtful origin. The seminars invite port authorities to exchange views on controls, the declaration of collections and access to registries.

One workshop simulates the verification of a shipment of artworks, from the declaration to the handover to the owner.

The seminars are held in Singapore, but one of them may be organised in another capital of the region, in partnership with a host State. Participants are public officials, auctioneers, gallery owners, lawyers and academics.

Interpretation into Mandarin and Japanese is offered during plenary sessions, as needed.

The recommendations are published within thirty days and submitted to national administrations. A follow-up table shows the actions undertaken by country.

Participants join a regional alert network that relays reports of thefts and suspect objects within hours.