Buying Artwork Abroad Is Legal; Bringing It Home May Not Be

November 4, 2026 / Sophie Clearwater /

For collectors used to taking home whatever they buy, the rules around exports can come as a shock. Photo by Felix Ngo on Unsplash

Collecting rare and interesting artworks and objects is one of the joys of traveling abroad, but many countries are less than happy to be picked clean by tourists. They see the American vacationer’s appetite for mementos as a form of plunder, a laissez-faire banditry that robs them of their national treasures and cultural artifacts and erodes their “patrimony”—their national sense of self. Governments around the world have responded with laws that keep some art and ancient artifacts within their borders by restricting not their sale but rather their export, and these laws are often reinforced by memoranda of understanding with the U.S. State Department. That may surprise U.S. citizens used to the idea that anything they buy, whether at a major art fair or at a local outdoor market, is theirs to take home.

Consider a few examples. Italy’s 2004 Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape requires anyone who wants to take “cultural goods” more than 50 years old out of the country to apply for an export license. In Germany, a 2007 law allowed individual state governments (not the federal government) to deny export licenses for any object deemed part of the national patrimony—even items not made in Germany could qualify. (This regional veto power was replaced by the 2016 KGSG reform, which shifted the final word on all permanent exports from the individual state governments to the federal government.) In both Italy and Germany, buying the object in question is perfectly legal; taking it out of the country is not. And the decision about whether an artwork or artifact may leave the country can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

And when it comes to artifacts, finders-keepers isn’t typically the rule. The Greek and Turkish governments, for example, claim ownership of previously unknown artifacts, including carved ancient stones and coins, found in their territorial waters or at excavation sites. Showing up at the airport with an authentic bronze coin—and no documentation to go with it—can mean being detained, questioned and facing potential criminal charges.

“There are a lot of things that are just not exportable,” Peter Tompa, a lawyer and former co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Art & Cultural Heritage Law Committee, told Observer. “Try to take them out of a country and you may be arrested by local customs officials on exiting or they may be seized by U.S. Customs on entry into the U.S. if they have been designated as cultural property of one of the 30 countries with agreements with the U.S.”

This poses a problem for seasoned collectors and casual vacationers alike, because reliable information can be hard to come by. Foreign embassy staffers may not be much help on whether specific types of cultural objects can be exported or how to obtain an export license, and they are hardly at the beck and call of shoppers. Street-market vendors can’t be counted on to tell the truth about what they’re hawking—it is, for example, possible (though unlikely) to accidentally buy real ancient coins from casual vendors in Greece. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has found that much of the stolen art and cultural property entering the U.S. is brought in by people who thought they were simply getting a good deal. The best ways to stay out of trouble are to avoid buying antiques or artworks from anyone you won’t be able to track down later, be wary of any object offered far below its value and check with art advisors and galleries in the U.S. and abroad about what can be legally exported.

If an item is denied an export license or seized by customs, the buyer shouldn’t expect the seller to recover the object or refund the money, according to Paul Cossu, a partner at the New York law firm Pryor Cashman. Nor can buyers count on help from U.S.-based organizations such as the Art Dealers Association of America or from international trade groups such as the British Antique Dealers Association, the Society of London Art Dealers or CINOA (Confédération Internationale des Négociants en Œuvres d’Art). “I guess you can give a bad Yelp review,” he quipped.

“Whether a license is granted or not is a risk the prospective buyer should evaluate; it’s also not the dealer’s responsibility,” Paul Hewitt, director general of the Society of London Art Dealers, told Observer, adding that “SLAD does not get involved in dispute resolution between dealers and their clients or between dealers. There are other channels for dispute resolution including mediation and legal options.”

Of course, mediation and lawsuits are poor options for travelers with limited time at a specific destination. It makes more sense to get answers to legal questions before leaving or during the trip. “It may be easier to rely on legal counsel,” said Leila Amineddoleh, a lawyer who has worked on high-profile looting cases. That counsel could be a lawyer in the U.S. or in the country being visited (Europe has a cottage industry of lawyers who advise foreign travelers). A lawyer can explain which types of cultural property may be exported and which documents are needed for an export license, which should also serve as proof for customs agents.

If customs does confiscate an artwork or artifact, Amineddoleh said, fighting for its return is rarely worth it, especially for relatively inexpensive objects. “Many collectors and dealers decide to walk away, because challenging a seizure is costly and time-consuming.”

That said, there are ways to structure a purchase that limit the risk of losing both the object and the money. A lawyer in the U.S. or abroad can draft a purchase agreement that places the purchase price in escrow, to be released only when an export license is granted.

Export restrictions aren’t the only surprise. The real cost of a purchase can be one, too. On top of the list price, buyers may owe value-added tax (VAT), which runs between 17 and 27 percent in European Union countries. Some countries add a luxury tax of up to 7 percent on top of the VAT. (Governments justify it as a way to redistribute wealth and curb consumption of luxury goods.) For works by living artists and some deceased ones, there may also be a resale royalty, ranging from four percent down to one-quarter of one percent of the price and capped at €12,500. Once home, buyers are still required to pay sales or use tax on the purchase price when they file the following year’s tax returns.

“The greatest misconception is often that the purchase price represents the total cost of acquisition,” Holly Baxter, an art advisor in San Francisco, told Observer. “International shipping, insurance, VAT, resale royalties, customs fees, import duties and compliance requirements can add meaningfully to the overall expense.”

Foreign travelers can get their VAT refunded, but they must ask the seller for a VAT refund form and have it stamped at the airport customs desk. Travelers need to show both the item and the receipt for it. Anyone who has already checked the object with their luggage and gone through security is too late to get the stamp. Many international airports have VAT refund kiosks past security, run by companies such as Global Blue and Planet, where travelers can hand over the stamped form and receive an immediate refund in cash or to their credit card, minus a processing fee.

Under U.S. law, original artworks (drawings, paintings, prints and sculptures) are exempt from import duties. “In practice, however,” explained Huw Lougher, managing director of London’s Lougher Contemporary Gallery, “the picture has been far messier. We have seen a lot of confusion in customs enforcement, with some shipments of qualifying artworks being incorrectly assessed for the 10 percent blanket duty. This has created operational headaches for non-U.S. galleries and sellers, who are often left advising clients on how to dispute the charge, a frustration for some of our clients.” In other words, buying art or antiques abroad can be tedious and takes not only money and taste, but also patience and paperwork. And maybe a taste for risk.