Set fair for 2020
Country Life UK|March 04, 2020
The year’s trade had an excellent start, with high prices achieved for a cheese-toasting dish, a stone Apollo, an Art Deco rug and slabs of the Berlin Wall
Huon Mallalieu
Set fair for 2020

AS we noted in our February 19 Leader, the art and antiques trade is surprisingly buoyant and, at present, its mood is positive. Evidence from the first fairs and auctions of the year supports our assessment.

When I visited the Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square, W1, for the opening event of the London year, the Mayfair Fair, I was greeted with the heartening news that one of the items featured in my January 1 preview had sold off the page and that there had been six enquiries about it before the fair opened. This was the rare Paul Storr silver cheese-toasting dish with Mary Cooke.

The Art Nouveau and Deco glass specialists M & D Moir sold a complete shelf-full to one regular client and another Art Deco dealer, Jeroen Markies, took £1,450 for a Swiss Jaeger- LeCoultre brass and glass clock (Fig 3) dating from the 1950s.

On the opening day of the Decorative Fair in Battersea, Stuart Atkinson of Fontaine, a Ledbury-based dealer, reported: ‘Overall, it has been pretty good. We’ve had such a high footfall and one private customer purchased every painting on our stand—all 43 of them.’

Large and traditional items also did well at this event. Vagabond Antiques of Fittleworth, West Sussex, for instance, parted with a collection of 18th-century staddle stones priced at £3,500 to a new customer; a life-sized 18th-century carved stone figure of Apollo on its original plinth (Fig 1), ticketed at £32,000; an 18th–century Italian painted chest of drawers at £4,600; a reclining leather Victorian armchair; several upholstery items; and ‘a really nice George III period lacquered chinoiserie chest at £5,500’.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM COUNTRY LIFE UKView all
Tales as old as time
Country Life UK

Tales as old as time

By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth

time-read
2 mins  |
November 13, 2024
Do the active farmer test
Country Life UK

Do the active farmer test

Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair

time-read
3 mins  |
November 13, 2024
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Country Life UK

Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin

Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts

time-read
2 mins  |
November 13, 2024
SOS: save our wild salmon
Country Life UK

SOS: save our wild salmon

Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish

time-read
3 mins  |
November 13, 2024
Into the deep
Country Life UK

Into the deep

Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel

time-read
4 mins  |
November 13, 2024
It's alive!
Country Life UK

It's alive!

Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters

time-read
4 mins  |
November 13, 2024
There's orange gold in them thar fields
Country Life UK

There's orange gold in them thar fields

A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd

time-read
3 mins  |
November 13, 2024
True blues
Country Life UK

True blues

I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 13, 2024
Oh so hip
Country Life UK

Oh so hip

Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland

time-read
4 mins  |
November 13, 2024
A best kept secret
Country Life UK

A best kept secret

Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning

time-read
3 mins  |
November 13, 2024