The tariff classification of an Art Deco folding screen from Germany.

N268775 September 24, 2015 CLA-2-97:OT:RR:NC:N4:433 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 9701.10.0000; 9403.60.8081 Klaus Peter Algier Atelier-Algier Hauptstrasse 2A Wallerfanegn, Saarland 66798 Germany RE: The tariff classification of an Art Deco folding screen from Germany. Dear Mr. Algier: In your letter dated September 1, 2015, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Descriptive literature and photos were provided. The item is an Art Deco folding screen identified and depicted as “monkeys at night jungle.” The Art Deco folding screen (Paravent) of the merchandise concerned is a recreation in the style of Jean Dunand, who is credited as being the greatest lacquer artist of the Art Deco period. The original Jean Dunand, “Paravent Aux Singes,” 1929, was auctioned by Christies on the 8th of June 2006, for a realized price of $244,583 – see http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/jean-dunand-1877-1942-paravent-aux-singes-1929-4717086-details.aspx?intObjectID=4717086. The merchandise concerned is said to be an Art Deco folding screen executed entirely by hand. The Art Deco folding screen consists of four individual panels, with each panel measuring ca. (approximately) 70-inches by 23-inches, and having a total weight of ca. 110 pounds. Each panel is ca. 1-inch thick, consists of a lacquered sandwich-wood with little stands, and is connected to the next panel by side-mounted hinges. This folding screen has a hand applied motif of an abstract night jungle scene with animals, of which the details are drawn, painted and grinded by hand, and patinated and finished with a natural lacquer surface treatment. Affixed to each screen, there is a numbered metal label with the signature Atelier (workshop/studio)-Algier, limited edition No. x/25 pieces. You indicate that the hand-painted Art Deco folding screen can be used as a wall painting similar in fashion to the Japanese style byobu “byobu” (wind wall – Japanese screen), and that hanging brackets are always delivered with the screen. It is your belief that the Art Deco folding screen is a wall hanging painting, rather than a simple functional screen or room divider, and therefore classifiable in subheading 9701.10.0000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) – the provision in part for “Paintings, drawings and pastels, executed entirely by hand ….” It is our position that the Court of International Trade, Kobata v. United States, 326 F. Supp. 1397, C.D. 4213, dated May 6, 1971, sets precedence to the merchandise concerned. It was held that wall hanging “folding screens,” specifically those of a byobu nature, were classifiable under item 765.03, TSUSA, the provision in pertinent part for paintings, whether or not originals, executed wholly by hand; the predecessor to subheading 9701.10.0000, HTSUS. From a reading of Kobata, distinction was made between screens classifiable as works of art versus screens having utilitarian value for shielding light, heat and wind or to effect privacy, all the foregoing not classifiable as works of art. Interpreted from Kobata, ‘free standing’ on the floor, hand painted screens, not adapted for attaching to the wall {are not} classifiable as works of art in subheading 9701.10.0000, HTSUS. See New York ruling N080535 dated November 3, 2009. Photos provided with N080535 indicated that the Art Deco folding screen had drilled holes on the upper-corners of each panel for the insertion of eye-screws, with the purpose of hanging on the wall; consequently, it was held that the item was classifiable in subheading 9701.10.0000, HTSUS. Consistent with Kobata and N080535, we are of the opinion that if the merchandise concerned is imported with pre-drilled holes and eye-screws, or attached brackets, both of which indicate hanging purposes, then the item is classifiable in subheading 9701.10.0000, HTSUS. If the merchandise concerned is floor standing, having no pre-drilled holes and eye-screws, or no attached brackets, or brackets included but not attached, then we are of the opinion that the merchandise concerned falls within the furniture provisions of subheading 9403.60.8081, HTSUS. The applicable subheading for the merchandise concerned, if painted and executed entirely by hand, and adapted for wall hanging, will be 9701.10.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Painting, drawings and pastels, executed entirely by hand .….: Paintings, drawings and pastels.” The rate of duty will be free. The applicable subheading for the merchandise concerned, if floor standing and not adapted for wall hanging, even if painted and executed entirely by hand, will be 9403.60.8081, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Other wooden furniture: Other: Other.” The rate of duty will be free. Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Neil H. Levy at neil.h.levy@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Gwenn Klein Kirschner Director National Commodity Specialist Division