Daniel Crouch Rare Books Sold a Pair of 17th-c. Blaeu Globes at TEFAF’s Opening
Maastricht, 16 March 2014—TEFAF Maastricht, the world's most prestigious art and antiques fair, opened on Friday 14th March to record interest and strong sales in all sections. This followed on from the most successful Private View in the Fair's history, which alone attracted over 10,000 private and institutional collectors from around the world, eager to find new treasures to add to their collections.
Sales in the antiques section, the largest and most eclectic in the Fair, were plentiful. To name a few: The Metropolitan Museum New York purchased an extraodinary parcel-gilt ostrich ewer by Marx Weinold with its basin by Johann Mittnacht I, Augsberg, c. 1690 from J. Kugel Antiquaires, Paris (stand 200) while Daniel Crouch Rare Books, London (stand 703) was delighted to sell an important pair of 17th-century globes by Willem Blaeu, which through the generosity of a private collector, will go on view in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Galerie Kevorkian, Paris (stand 244) reported the sale of an Amlash spouted pottery vessel with a burnished surface in the form of a stag from the Southwestern Caspian region, dating from the 1st Millenium BC to a private collector for a sum, in the region of 110K euros, and a portrait of a Safavid Nobleman by Shaykh 'Abbas', which was keenly fought over by two musea. The rare ink, gouache and gold miniature, which dated from the 17th-century, displayed mixed Persian and Moghul influences. Asian art has had a strong following at TEFAF for many years. Vanderven Oriental Art , 's-Hertogenbosch (stand 101) was delighted to report the sale of a drum stand decorated with three coiled snakes, Warring States Period (475-221BC) at the Private View to a European collector: the piece had an asking price of 2.5 million euros. Aronson Antiquairs, Amsterdam, world renowned specialists in 17th- and 18th-century Dutch Delftware, reported the sale of an important blue and white, seven piece pyramidal flower Delft flower vase, c. 1690, to the National Gallery of Victoria, the oldest public museum in Australia, for a high five figure sum.
Douwes Fine Art, Amsterdam (stand 338) reported the sale of View of Lausanne, c.1870, by Matthijs Maris (1839-1917) to The Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. The director of the museum, Benno Tempel, declined to give the price but commented, 'Nobody knew where this picture was, and I found it here, at TEFAF'. The picture had previously been in the same European collection for over 80 years. In the paintings section, The Weiss Gallery, London (350) was delighted to report a number of sales including one if its highlights: a signed oil-on-panel painting by Lucas Cranach the Younger (1515-1586) entitled Lucretia, c. 1537-1540, which had an asking price of 2 million euros. A beautiful small canvas by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796-1875), painted c. 1826-1827, entitled Ruins of the Claudian Aqueduct, Rome was sold by Daxer & Marschall, Munich (337) was also snapped up on the first day.
A life-time bronze cast, 1950, entitled Piccolo Cavallo by the Italian sculptor Mario Marini (1901-1980) was sold by Landau Fine Art, Montreal (stand 416). Conptemporary photography specialist, Galleri K, Oslo (stand 713) was pleased to report the sale of one of the highlights from his stand - a large frieze of the Museo del Prado, Madrid created by Thomas Struth in 2005, consisting of 5 separate photographs, each measuring 140 x 175cm.
This year Design formed the subject of the TEFAF Art Symposium - Addicted to Vintage: Trends in 20th Century Design was held on the opening morning of the Fair. One of the highlights of the Design section, a chair created for 'Le arti decorativi internazionale del nuovo secolo', Turin in 1902 by Carlo Bugatti made from massive oak and completely covered with gilded and painted Parchemin, with an asking price of 350,000 euros, was sold by Galerie Ulrich Fiedler, Berlin (stand 601) to a German museum.
TEFAF continues at the MECC Maastricht until 23rd March 2014.
Art, more than an Asset
TEFAF shares its view of art as more than an asset with its principal sponsor, AXA ART. Their partnership provides art collectors with unique expertise covering the full range of risk prevention, conservation, recovery and restoration, to enable them to maintain their collections in the best possible condition. www.axa-art.com
