On October 22, the final day of the 20th running of Brian and Anna Haughton’s International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show at the Park Avenue Armory, signs of a successful show were still to be seen everywhere.
At Gallery Brian Haughton, which housed an impressive display of rare porcelains from the Paul and Helga Riley Collection and a show-stopping pair of massive C.J. Mason granite china pear-shaped hall vases, the show’s producer was busy greeting customers and old friends. An aisle away, at Keshisian Antique Carpets, Tapestries & Aubussons, London, an elite group was listening intently to the back story on a rare wall-sized Arts and Crafts carpet attributable to C.F.A. Voysey.
Two major opening night sales set the tone for the five-day show. Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books, London, sold one of only seven known examples of the “Ricci Map” for a figure in the million-dollar range. The world map, made by the Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci and printed on rice paper, is expected to be gifted to a major institution. Apter-Fredericks, London, followed up in due course with the sale of the celebrated “Worsley” chairs, an important pair of George III giltwood armchairs by Thomas Chippendale.
Of the 65 high-end dealers represented, most reported steady sales. Thomas Walwyn of Rafferty & Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks, London, remarked that he had made at least one important sale every day of the show, which ran from October 16 through October 22. Across the way, S. Collier Gwin, of Foster-Gwin, San Francisco, perused the “sold” stickers that appeared on everything from a contemporary painting by Stephen Pace, a first generation abstract artist, to a pair of Italian neoclassical giltwood stools. Gwin said the buyers he had encountered were “intelligent people prepared with intelligent questions.” He added, “They were doing due diligence and were prepared to buy when they found the right thing.”
This year, that included everything from traditional decorative arts and antiquities to Art Deco and midcentury treasures. Charles Ede, London, saw a Fifth Century Greek Calyx crater go to a private collector. He also sold an Etruscan bronze stamos and a Roman marble statue of Ceres. Meanwhile, Bernd Goeckler Antiques, New York, sold a set of 14 French oak dining chairs by Alfred Porteneuve, circa 1935‴0, as well as a pair of Barovier & Toso sconces, circa 1950. Primavera Gallery, another Modernist dealer, cited the sale of a Phillip Lloyd Powell carved wood chest of drawers, as well as doing brisk business in signed jewelry.
Estate and antique jewelry was amply represented. Wartski, London, anchored its corner booth with a tall glass vitrine housing a monumental featherlike diamond encrusted diadem. Created circa 1900, the work had been converted into a brooch. Amid the Faberge and jewelry by Lucien Falize, among others, was a silver Victorian box in the form of a scull, circa 1873. More subtle, perhaps a “sleeper,” was a Seventeenth Century silver pomander and chain. Each of the cache’s sections was marked, one for cloves, another for amber, the others for anise, cinnamon and possibly myrrh. Functional antique silver also found favor, as Lewis Smith, director of Koopman Rare Art, said. Among Koopman’s important sales were a Paul Storr silver tray, entrée dish and soup tureen suite.
One of the show’s longtime exhibitors is Peter Finer Antique Arms & Armour, London, who displayed remarkable collections of Indian kards with jade handles, antique swords and dueling pistols. The eye-catcher was a rare composite North Italian half-armor. From Milan, circa 1590, it featured etched “pots and mops” with inlaid bands of classical figures, swags and other decorative flourishes.
At Donald Heald Rare Books, there was a slightly more cerebral but equally imposing surprise in the form of an exceptional Flemish flower manuscript. Comprising 28 panels on vellum, the manuscript celebrated wealth and status through association with the magnificent tulips portrayed. When viewed by this reporter, the album’s wall tag bore the desired red dot.
Colorful and still fresh after all these years were several outstanding examples from the Art Nouveau movement. Tucked up to the side wall at David & Constance Yates’ booth was an Emile Muller stoneware fireplace surround with polychrome glaze. At the center point of the mostly green surround was a white female face with billowing hair crafted in hues of purple and pink. Elsewhere, at Lillian Nassau, New York City, works by Tiffany designer Clara Driscoll engaged viewers. Nassau’s sales included a rare iridescent mosaic inkwell and enamel copper vase. A hanging lamp in the daffodil design also went to collectors.
Among the many fine paintings exhibited, Browse & Darby, London, featured Maurice Brianchon’s “Tulipes,” a 1947 oil on canvas in brilliant colors. Set against a Modernist ground of dark tones, a blue vase filled with red and white tulips triggered the imagination and set off strings of memories.
The most expensive offering in the booth, however, was Edouard Voillard’s “En Bretagne, Saint Jacut,” of distemper on paper laid down on canvas. Agnew’s, London, sold several major paintings, including Théophile Blanchard’s 1846 work “Vue Prise a Eu,” a view of Louis-Philippe’s summer palace.
Since this show caters to a highly traditional crowd, it came as no surprise that English furniture and decorations fared well. Clinton Howell Antiques sold a rare Johnstone and Jeanes expanding round dining table. Ronald Philips, London, sold several pairs of important chairs, mirrors and decorations.
With a gate that outnumbered the catalogs available, the International Fine Art and Antique Dealers show welcomed nearly 100 museum curators and several recognizable celebrities.
When asked to comment on the show’s success over the years, Brian Haughton said, “As a dealer, I have always tried to give the kind of show that would make other dealers happy.” In the two decades since he set out to do this, the antiques market has come full circle. Haughton used the opportunity to confirm the addition of yet another major show to the Haughton organization’s calendar. Titled “Art Antiques London,” the new show will debut in a purpose-built marquee in Kensington Gardens, June 10‱6.
From the looks of the Park Avenue Armory’s first big fall show, the market appears to be coming back, at least at the very top end.
For more information, www.haughton.com or 44 (0)20 7389 6555.
