NEW YORK—From whale’s teeth to Tiffany lamps, from ancient Roman statues to grandfather clocks, The International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show brought 64 of the world’s top antique dealers to the Upper East Side in New York City.
The 23rd annual fair ran from October 21–27 at the Park Avenue Armory, hosted by art impresarios Anna and Brian Haughton of London.
“The value at this booth is probably the sum of all the other booths,” inferred Zumbült. She described a few of the 115 pieces on display which ranged in worth from $21,000 to $6 million.
A gospel book from A.D. 1050 “fills the cliché” of the dark middle ages, says Zumbült. She envisions its creation in a candle-lit monastery.
Next to it was a piece from the “not-so-dark middle ages.” A Biblia Latina with perfectly polished, gilded backgrounds in pristine condition despite its age.
French Cistercian monks created the masterful work more than seven centuries ago. The pages remain white; the letters look as though a careful hand printed them only yesterday; the 87 initials in the tome are as vibrantly colorful as the day they were made. It is the $6 million prize of the booth.
A more modern wonder, French artist Marie-Claude de Fouquières’s fractal resin table glistened and seemed to emit an amber light at the H.M. Luther Antiques display.
The table (98 inches in width and 50.5 inches in diameter) is a golden, sap-colored, translucent slab supported by a steel base. A pattern of sparkling veins was created within the translucent resin by a chemical reaction between the acrylic resin and a catalyst, before the material cooled and hardened into its present form.
Fouquières was unimpressed with the furniture designs she came across in the 1960s and decided to create her own. Her husband owned a resin factory, and her unique style was born, explained Scott VanderHamm of H.M. Luther Antiques based in New York on East 11th Street.
Among the other wonders on display was a picture of Gripsholm Castle in Sweden intricately formed out of cork and framed as a sort of multilayered painting. It was made in the 19th century and was on display at the Apter-Fredericks Ltd. booth.
Hyland Granby Antiques featured all sorts of nautical antiques: a detailed wooden model of Noah’s Ark with animals boarding two-by-two, elaborate model ships, paintings, sailor-style clocks, and navigational tools.
“At first, clients are attracted by the aesthetics,” said Wally Bowling, co-director of the Douglas Dawson Gallery. He noted, however, that “As you talk to them, they get excited by the history or story behind [the pieces].”