The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has placed a temporary export bar on Henri‑Joseph François, Baron de Triqueti’s Medallion Portrait of Florence and Alice Campbell (1857), valued at £280,000. The decision, published on 14 November 2025, follows advice from the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest and is intended to allow time for a UK purchaser to match the recommended price.
The committee judged the relief to meet Waverley criteria two and three: outstanding aesthetic importance, and outstanding significance for the study of Triqueti’s sources and practice, Victorian women, and the commissioning of medallion portraits by English families. These are among the recognised tests used by government when assessing cultural objects of national importance.
Under the deferral, the export licence decision is paused until 13 February 2026 inclusive. If a serious offer at £280,000 plus VAT is made, the owner has 15 business days to consider it. Should an Option Agreement be signed, a second deferral period of three months will follow to complete fundraising and due diligence.
In the UK system, an export bar does not force a sale; it withholds permission to export while an eligible UK buyer-typically a museum-seeks to purchase at the fair market price. Arts Council England administers export licensing on DCMS’s behalf and cases are referred to RCEWA for assessment against the Waverley criteria.
The object is a near two‑metre assembly comprising a marble medallion portrait mounted on a rosewood and verde‑antica marble plinth with ormolu mouldings. According to DCMS, the medallion measures approximately 72.5 × 60.5 × 13 cm and the plinth around 113 × 78 × 26 cm, and its acquisition would aid scholarship on an artist whose oeuvre is only partly documented.
The sitters are sisters Florence and Alice Campbell. The work was likely commissioned by their father, Robert Tertius Campbell, an Australian businessman credited by DCMS with introducing agricultural innovations at Buscot Park in Oxfordshire. Florence later drew notoriety linked to the unexplained death of her husband, a story referenced in cultural commentary.
DCMS lists the provenance as: commission circa 1857; Christie’s, 18 July 1983, not sold; Sotheby’s, 13 June 1984, sold; subsequently the Bernard Kelly Collection; and Lyon & Turnbull, 15 January 2025, sold. These records support the object’s research value and context for curators and scholars.
For potential UK purchasers, the policy pathway is familiar. Institutions and eligible private buyers should signal interest to RCEWA promptly, secure internal approvals to proceed at the recommended price, and be prepared to meet public access, conservation and security commitments that apply if a private individual or company acquires an item under this process.
Export licensing is handled through Arts Council England’s online system, which sets out when applications are referred to expert advisers and how deferral periods operate within the statutory and administrative framework. This is the route through which any licence outcome will ultimately be implemented.
Key dates now govern next steps. The first deferral period ends on 13 February 2026; if an Option Agreement is entered into, a further three months follow to complete any purchase. Enquiries from prospective UK buyers can be directed to RCEWA on 020 7268 0534 or rcewa@artscouncil.org.uk.