Sellers of pianos and family heirlooms featuring tiny amounts of ivory must pay to register them on a government database or face jail, under a “Kafka-esque” bill going through Parliament.

The bureaucratic exercise will in many cases be costlier than the object’s worth, rendering them unsellable and destined for the skip, antiques traders have warned.

The Government is pushing through a ban on ivory trading, with an exemption for items that contain less than 10 per cent ivory and musical instruments containing less than 20 per cent.

Ivory inlays and handles are common features of Georgian and Victorian chests of drawers, mirrors, teapots, clocks, barometers and other everyday items.

But in order to qualify for exemption, an object must be registered online and issued with a logbook - a process that will involve measuring, photographing and noting all distinguishing features. There will be a charge for the service, which has not been set by the government but is expected to be anywhere from £30-100.

Many of the items that pass through salerooms as a result of house clearances or probate fetch £100 or less.

Anyone who tries to sell such an object without registering it will face up to five years in jail or an unlimited fine. The law will apply both to sales via auction houses and to private sales through websites such as eBay and Gumtree.