In the 29th year of the show and the fourth year under the ownership and management of the Palm Beach Show Group, the Baltimore Summer Antiques Show was a resounding hit. By all accounts, it was bigger, better looking and the most successful event to date. Boasting more than 550 dealers and conducted September 3 through 6, the show follows suit with the other shows staged by the promoters †a class event.
In the past four years the Palm Beach Show Group has expanded the show by more than 100 dealers, and, according to promoter Kris Charamonde, it has become an important “international event offering an amazing array of different types of materials.” The quality of the show has risen every year, according to the promoter, yet a large number of the smaller “mom and pop” dealers have been retained. Diversity is apparent as one traverses the monumental show floor. And there is not just a little of this and a little of that; Baltimore is filled with quality antiques of all sorts.
As with other shows promoted by Palm Beach Show Group, presentation is everything. Stimulating booths are a must, as is the carpet that handsomely covers the aisles. While visually pleasing, ergonomics are a major factor.
For a show this huge to succeed, huge crowds need to come through the door. The line awaiting opening on Thursday morning can only be described as huge, extending from two entrances in the main lobby, up the stairs and into the main foyer. A third entrance brought buyers in through a back door, where yet another respectable crowd waited for opening.
Once the show opened, the crowd dissipated into the cavernous hall, yet it was readily apparent that there was a mass of people making their way from booth to booth. Management reported a packed hall by midafternoon and they fielded positive comments from dealers and the crowd throughout the weekend.
There is at least one show within a show, as the 70-dealer Antiquarian Book Fair has been incorporated into the mix, and although they have not been segregated, there are almost enough Asian and Orientalia dealers to form a show of their own.
Other groups follow similarly. “We have almost 50 international dealers,” stated Charamonde. “Buyers tell us that the more diverse the show gets and the more international, the more exciting it becomes. One buyer came up to the office to tell us that due to the large number of foreign buyers and dealers, this was ‘like the UN.'”
While attendance figures had yet to be finalized, management estimated about 30,000 people over the four-day run, a figure on par with last year. Management had yet to figure in the complimentary tickets that it distributes to known buyers, commenting that thousands are distributed and reasoning that getting qualified buyers onto the show floor is in everyone’s best interest.
Several dealers remarked soon after the doors had opened to the public that sales had already been very good. “We could leave right now,” stated one art and Americana dealer. A silver dealer in the next aisle echoed his sentiments.
“The market for antiques, art and jewelry in the Mid-Atlantic region has always been strong and the Baltimore Summer Antiques Show has established itself as one of the top industry shows in the nation due to diverse and quality selection of exhibitors and collections,” stated Charamonde. “I was actually surprised at the incredible amount of buying and selling on the show floor this year.”
Items sold across the board, according to management, with some of the show’s top sales including an important pair of Japanese enamel vases valued at $50,000, an extremely important apostle silver spoon for $25,000, a gold cup from the Han dynasty valued in the six figures and 14 pieces of Dali marble works valued between $2,000 to $10,000 each.
American silver seen around the floor ranged in period from the Eighteenth Century to Modern pieces, and it proved extremely popular with buyers and sellers alike. Southampton, Mass., dealer Spencer Marks was another dealer to report strong sales, including a soup tureen by Samuel Kirk & Son, Baltimore, circa 1870‱880. “There wasn’t a lot of silver made in Baltimore before 1800 and this is about the earliest,” stated the dealer as he pointed to a display that included a silver sugar bowl by George Allen, circa 1805; a sauce boat by Liberty Browne, circa 1800; a ewer by Kirk, circa 1830; and a Samuel Kirk & Sons soup tureen, circa 1870. Another item attracting attention was an Art Deco silver tea service by Charles Boyton that included the rare undertray.
Silver dealer Robert Lloyd was another to report a “tremendous show,” adding, “We sold six pieces in the five-figure range proving our point that the demand at the top end of the market remains strong,” stated Lloyd. Among the sales recorded was an extremely important apostle spoon, circa 1650, a Charles II period English tankard valued in the five figures, a Charles II period lighthouse caster and a silver gilt mounted ostrich egg goblet, along with other Georgian period pieces.
A large contingent of Chinese buyers was reported at the show and according to management, they were doing some serious buying.
“This year was the best show I’ve ever had in Baltimore,” commented Michael Teller of TK Asian Antiquities. With sales totaling well into seven figures, he further explained that he sold to clients of all ages, cultures and educational and financial backgrounds. Among the sales reported by the dealer was an important bronze of great historical importance that was valued in the seven figures.
Asiantiques, Winter Park, Fla., was on hand with a stellar selection of Orientalia, including a collection of more than 100 snuff bottles that ranged in price from $1,000 to more than $40,000. The dealers reported the sale of a small tooled jade vase from the Qing dynasty, a Japanese cloisonné piece from the Meiji period and a pair of rare 12-foot-long decorated privacy screens from the Eighteenth Century.
New exhibitor Shimazu, Clementon, N.J., sold an important pair of Japanese enamel vases valued at $50,000, an important Japanese solid gold inlaid iron vase by Komai valued at $25,000, and an important Japanese enamel vase by Gonda Hirosuke valued at $18,500.
Art works were also selling well, with New Orleans dealer M.S. Rau Antiques moving an important English painting as well as a rare micromosaic work depicting a bridge over the Tiber River with St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City in the background. The dealer also reported the sale of a pair of terrestrial and celestial globes, measuring an impressive 30 inches in diameter, by W. & A.K. Johnston, Ltd. “We had a very good show,” commented Billy Rau. “We sold important silver, objects and a painting that went for well over six figures. The mood was upbeat compared to other shows I’ve participated in this year&We were very pleased.”
Louis J. Dianni, Fishkill, N.Y., was on hand with a wonderful selection of marine paintings. The dealer reported the of sale an oil on canvas work by British artist George Chambers titled “Portrait of a Merchant Vessel in Two Views,” circa 1826.
Three paintings were sold by Port ‘N Starboard of Falmouth, Maine, including a Twentieth Century oil on canvas by American artist George Nemethy titled “Yacht Race,” a Nineteenth Century oil on canvas work by American artist Elijah Taylor Baker titled “Ellsely Schooner” and a Nineteenth Century oil on canvas work by Charles H. Gifford titled “Sailing Off New England Coast.”
An oil on canvas by English artist Ernest Walbourn titled “Feeding Time” was sold by McCarty Gallery of Philadelphia, while Frederick Judd Waugh’s oil titled “Breezing Up” was sold by John Dennison Fine Art of Myrtle Beach, S.C.
American furniture and accessories were also selling well, with The Norwoods’ Spirit of America, Timonium, Md., selling several pieces of Americana folk art, including a Chester County sampler, a New England theorem on velvet and a Lancaster County fraktur. “We really had a wonderful show,” stated Bev Norwood. “People who were really interested in wonderful items and objects showed up and bought.”
The annual lecture series continued to be a strong attraction with some lectures attended by a standing-room-only crowd. “It has always been our goal to provide an environment that fosters the understanding and appreciation of antiques in addition to offering an enormous selection of high-quality items,” said Judy Oppel, lecture organizer.
Lectures included “Meissen: 300 Years of Exceptional Porcelain” by Mimi Levine of Mimi and Steve Levine, “Dining in Style with Georg Jensen Silver” by Janet Drucker of Drucker Antiques and “The Golden Age of Glassmaking in China” by Francois Lorin of Asiantiques.
The Palm Beach Show Group’s next event will be the Dallas International Art, Antique & Jewelry Show, November 5‹. For further information, 561-822-5440 or www.baltimoresummerantiques.com .
