Lawsuit over "Anglo-Saxon" cross

A too-familiar story nowadays: a seller consigns something for sale at auction; someone else buys it, turns around, and sells it for a big markup, and then the original owner sues the auctioneer.
Here's a recent variation, with some twists, from England:

Mel Glazer, who put up what some experts continue to argue is a rare Anglo Saxon cross shaft for auction at Norfolk auction house T.W. Gaze and Son, saw the hammer fall at £7500. Antiquities dealer Rupert Wace, the successful bidder, sold the piece at the Grosvenor House Fair in June last year for almost £300,000.

Mr Wace, among other experts, is confident that the cross shaft is a genuine Anglo Saxon piece dating from the 8th/9th century – a view that, importantly, is still shared by his American buyer – and has guaranteed the sale. But his view contradicts the verdict of the Government-appointed Export Review Committee, who advise Ministers on whether works of art should be allowed out of the country.

The committee were advised by Professor Rosemary Cramp, editor of the Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture, and an independent assessor whose identity has been kept secret by the committee but who is understood to be a British Museum curator.

Despite experts disagreeing over the age of the cross shaft, Mr Glazer is pressing ahead with his claim for compensation from the auctioneers through his lawyers.

It seems unlikely that the lawsuit will succeed; unlike in the USA, however, it will be the losing party that will be saddled with the legal bills.

UPDATE: Here's a bit more on the cross (but not on the lawsuit) from the Art Newspaper.

Posted by David on January 6, 2003 8:32 PM