Lempertz to hold Asian art auction outside of Germany to avoid cultural heritage law

Gandharan - from where?

One cannot help but think that the title of this could have been better phrased: Jonathan Franks, 'Lempertz to hold Asian art auction outside of Germany to avoid cultural heritage law' Antiques Trade Gazette 02 May 2017.

Nagel and Lempertz have moved their Asian art auctions out of Germany following the introduction of the country's cultural heritage law. It will now hold these auctions in Brussels following the introduction of a law for the protection of works of art of cultural interest (Kulturschutzgesetz), which came into force last August.  Reason:

Under the new due diligence guidelines, the Kulturgutschutzgesetz demands proof of provenance before ‘cultural goods’ are sold – paperwork that is often not available. 

Then if objects such as portable antiquities  are unpapered, no responsible dealer should be adding them to their stock. The dealers do not like teh idea of getting export licences fopr the objects they sell, possibly because it highlights the lack of checks that such papers exist for their licit export from the source country.