After the U.S., the UK is the world's second-biggest market for art and antiques. But Brexit and the pandemic were major blows to sales in Britain last year, which slumped by 22 percent to $9.9 billion – the lowest level in a decade.

According to the UBS Art Market Report, imports into the UK in 2020 were also down a third on 2019, at $2.1 billion.

Traders struggled with the restrictions on global movement from the pandemic as well as the uncertainty before the last-minute Brexit trade deal agreed in late December 2020. 

Despite this, some in the British industry forecast brighter days ahead – including said James Butchoff from Butchoff Antiques, a dealer in the UK. 

"Once you get over the hurdles on the logistics side of it in terms of more bureaucracy with more paperwork and once people understand that the process becomes a little bit slower than it was pre-Brexit, then I think there's many more opportunities for European collectors to buy in the UK at a more competitive price," Butchoff tells CGTN. 

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Global trade in fine paintings, sculptures, rare furniture and other collectibles is worth billions of dollars a year. The antiques market ranges from the auctions of priceless pieces in glitzy Paris showrooms to the discovery of dusty heirlooms in small village yard sales. 

The UK's departure from the EU now means that Paris is the largest art market in the European Union. The French capital is home to the world's most famous art museum, the Louvre, with some of the world's most recognizable paintings, like the Mona Lisa. 

But traders in the city are hoping that the lower value, domestic EU art trade may now shift from London to Paris. 

Brexit brings customs complexities

Since January, art headed from the EU to the UK has been subject to customs declarations. Where there used to be frictionless trade, there are now 69 pages of UK regulations specifically for the valuations of imported goods. The paperwork has created immediate concerns for businesses. 

"The problem is what happens to all these items that have been traded in the past and are now confronted with new regulations that cannot be met retrospectively," said Dirk Boll, the president of auctioneer Christie's Europe and Middle East operations. 

"I think this is less about the future market because this market will adapt.”

This article is part of BREXITED: THE FIRST 100 DAYS – a digital show by CGTN Europe. Sign up to the event via the link to watch it on our Facebook page on April 11 at 12 p.m. GMT.