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London, England

The Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair

by Lita Solis-Cohen

The Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair, held this year June 11-18, is the main focus of the mid-June London shows. It's the event that spawned all the ancillary antiques events—the fairs, the auctions, and a myriad of gallery shows with accompanying parties.

It is the only British fair with royal patronage. This year, it celebrated the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen, with royal loans on display. Jonathan Horne, chairman of the British Antique Dealers' Association (BADA), organized the loan exhibition at the entrance to the fair. The Two Ages of Elizabeth had a choice selection of treasures from the reigns of Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II.

The so-called Armada portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, circa 1588, a large oil on panel showing Elizabeth with her hand over a globe, dominated the Elizabeth I section. Andy Warhol's 1985 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, a screenprint with diamond dust, hung over the Elizabeth II section. Both were borrowed from private collections, and both are multiples. The Warhol is one of a set of four prints, and the Armada portrait is considered the finest of several surviving versions.

A splendid suit of armor, unusual because it was made in England, was paired with Queen Elizabeth II's full dress uniform as Colonel-in-Chief of the Coldstream Guards. The uniform is best known for its appearance at the ceremony of Trooping the Colour, which takes place every June on the queen's official birthday. A portrait of Lord Burghley, advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, paralleled a sculpture by Oscar Nemon of Sir Winston and Lady Churchill, a reduction of the full-scale version in the garden at Chartwell, Churchill's country home in Kent.

A joint stool and an oak wainscot chair were echoed by similar forms made by modern furniture craftsmen. The public paid attention to the exhibition, especially when Jonathan Horne was there to greet visitors, but the real reason for coming to the fair was to see what was for sale.

There was an impressive array of Oriental works of art, textiles, jewelry, paintings, drawings, sculpture, prints, furniture, silver, porcelain, antiquities, garden sculpture, some contemporary ceramics and silver, and modern works of art. Since 1934, the Grosvenor House show has attracted collectors and curators from all over the world.

There were in all 92 exhibitors this year, of whom 11 were new to the fair. One of the four Americans was a first-time exhibitor. Housed in the Grosvenor House Hotel ballroom, which is billed as the largest in Europe, the show nevertheless seemed cramped; the aisles were narrow, and the lighting poor so it wasn't always easy to see objects. Nevertheless, it is the place to see some extraordinary works of art, and it is the place to be seen.

The fair opened on Tuesday morning at 11 a.m. The morning preview was well attended, as was the official opening that afternoon when the chairman of the fair, Lanto Synge of Mallet, graciously welcomed everyone and then introduced the American ambassador to the Court of St. James's, William Farish. Synge reminded him that when former Ambassador Walter Annenberg made his rounds of the fair he made a purchase at each stand.

There was a charity gala on Thursday, two days after the fair was officially opened. Although the right people came, business was not bustling even on opening day. According to the press department, the post-fair survey showed that 70% of the dealers were satisfied with their sales and some said they sold well indeed.

"I think porcelain dealers all did well because all the collectors and curators are in London for the ceramics fair," observed European porcelain dealer Michele Beiny Harkins of New York City, one of the four American dealers showing at the fair. There were several stands with European porcelain, one with English enamels, and half a dozen with very fine Chinese porcelains, some made for the export market. There was, however, very little English pottery at Grosvenor House. Alistair Sampson, for example, saved his delft and most of his English pottery for the International Ceramics Fair & Seminar, which opened at the end of the week.

New York City dealer Peter Schaffer of A La Vieille Russie, who has shown at Grosvenor House for a decade, brought an extraordinary selection of Fabergé as well as jewelry. He said business was off this year, noting that many big spenders failed to come.

Antiquarian book dealer Peter Kraus of Ursus Books, New York City, repatriated a rare circa 1939 manuscript relating to the Royal Air Force. Aircraft Types, a reference with 162 watercolor illustrations and 80 pen-and-ink drawings, contained information on over 160 RAF planes in service between 1936 and 1939. A collector who served in the RAF bought the bound volume and intends to present it to a British museum to insure that it stays in the United Kingdom.

Top dealers in English furniture show their finest wares at Grosvenor House, which was why Robert Israel and Fred Imberman of Kentshire Galleries, New York City, decided to show there this year. "There is a lot of competition. English collectors have their favorite dealers, but now people know who we are," said Israel at the preview. During the preview Kentshire Galleries sold two small pieces, a miniature circa 1720 Queen Anne chest and a late 18th-century traveling mirror.

Apter-Fredericks, one of London's leading dealers in 18th-century English furniture, sold several important pieces at the preview, including a George III Chippendale mahogany piecrust tea table with a birdcage support. "It looks American, and it has a rich old surface," said Guy Apter. He is the fifth generation in the family firm, which established its Fulham Road premises in 1946. (For the first time since 1989, Apter-Fredericks will be exhibiting at the International Fine Art and Antique Dealers show at the Seventh Regiment Armory, New York City, October 18-24.)

Knightsbridge dealer Norman Adams sold several pieces of furniture at the preview, including a circa 1760 Chippendale mahogany wine table and a circa 1775 inlaid satinwood Adam pier table with gilded legs. Witney Antiques, Witney, Oxfordshire, sold a small table at the preview, and there were red dots on several pieces of early needlework on their stand. They are the leading English dealers in needlework and often come to America to buy.

This year's fair had more contemporary and modern paintings and prints and more contemporary furniture, ceramics, and silver than previous fairs. Charles Truman of C&L Burman, London, sold a chair made of slices of cardboard by Mathias Bengtsson. Truman said the chair was finished the Saturday before the fair. Adrian Sassoon of London, who showed at both Grosvenor House and the ceramics fair, sold several contemporary items, including some made by the Japanese silversmith Junko Mori in 2001.

Richard Philp, who is known as a dealer in antiquities, medieval and Renaissance sculpture, and old master paintings, sold four stoneware minimalist pieces made by his brother Paul Philp, demonstrating that quality is timeless.

American dealers were seen buying small paintings. Stiles Colwill of Baltimore bought a dog painting for a client, and Donald Heald of New York City bought four American watercolors that he thinks may be by Nicolino Calyo. Paintings dealer Peter Tillou was among those in Ambassador Farish's entourage. He toured the fair with him and later had a client in tow.

London dealer Anthony Marks of Marks, Curzon Street, London, quickly sold to an American a six-piece Martelé tea and coffee service and tray made circa 1900 by Gorham in Providence, Rhode Island. He also offered silver by Tiffany along with his 18th- and 19th-century English silver.

Antiquities seemed to attract the most early buyers. London dealer Charles Ede reported his best Grosvenor House preview to date. He sold 14 pieces on preview day, including a Roman marble portrait head of a noblewoman, circa A.D. 140, for around £25,000.

David Moss wrote in the Antiques Trade Gazette that he considered the most important piece at this year's Grosvenor House fair was a previously unrecorded Anglo-Saxon cross shaft dating from the 8th or 9th century. It was discovered buried in Staffordshire and was offered by Rupert Wace of London. Its four tapering sides are decorated with abstract interlaced designs. Offered for a substantial six-figure sum, it was bought by an American dealer but is currently being reviewed by the British Export Review Committee. It may be denied an export license.

For more information on the Grosvenor House fair, see the Web site (www.grosvenor-antiquesfair.co.uk).