A press release published on 18 September 2026 announced a temporary export bar on Antico's Seated Nymph, allowing UK museums and galleries until 17 December 2026 to raise the £4.6 million needed to acquire the bronze statuette and keep it on public display. The figure stands 19.5 cm tall inside a 22 cm bronze base, and was cast over 500 years ago with mercury-gilded hair and drapery.

The statuette, made by Italian sculptor Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi (about 1455–1528) with silver-inlaid eyes, was rediscovered in the sculpture collection at Woburn Abbey. Arts Minister Ruth Mackenzie called it “small but mighty.” RCEWA committee member Stuart Lochhead said removing it would deprive the public of a work by a rare and admired sculptor. The RCEWA based its advice on the work's aesthetic importance and its significance to the study of sculpture collecting in the UK, specifically the Bedford collection and the relationship between Antico models.

If no buyer comes forward during the first deferral period ending on 17 December 2026, the release said the owners would have a consideration period of 15 business days to weigh any offers at the recommended price of £4,600,000 plus VAT of £166,666.67. A second deferral period of five months would begin after an Option Agreement is signed.