EBERWEIN ANCIENT ART
STAND NUMBER: 428
New to TEFAF Maastricht this year is the Paris antiquities dealer Galerie Eberwein Ancient Art, which has chosen the international fair to unveil a newly discovered piece of ancient Egyptian art from the tomb of a famous pharoah.
The polychrome limestone fragment, 14in (36cm) high, part of a funerary bas relief, comes from the 3300-year-old tomb of Pharoah Seti I. This is one of the best-known tombs in the Valley of Kings but has been sealed for the past 30 years because of deterioration due to humidity and tourist numbers.
The tomb, comprising 11 chambers and two side rooms with its wall paintings, was discovered in October 1817 by Giovanni Belzoni who set about recording what he saw, although his work was never completed. Subsequent expeditions removed parts of the tomb which can now be found in various museums.
A project has been set up to record every known piece to recreate the tomb in digital form. Antonia Eberwein from the dealership went to an exhibition in Basel, Scanning Seti, about the project and a few months later when she came across this fragment that was being dispersed from a private collection she thought it might be linked to the tomb and bought it.
She contacted Florence Barberio, the Egyptologist working on the project, and her response confirmed it was from Seti’s tomb, with an inscription revealing that it was an excerpt from The Book of Gates located in the room of the sarcophagus. Eberwein has lent the fragment for scanning so it can be added to the record. It will be offered at Maastricht with a price of €70,000.
Blue faience amulet of the god Bes, dated to the late dynastic period (c.6th century BC) – €2100 from Galerie Eberwein Ancient Art at TEFAF Maastricht 2019.
Not all the Egyptian antiquities that Eberwein is showing will be priced at this level. Among the more affordable pieces on offer at TEFAF will be this little blue faience amulet of the god Bes, 2in (5cm) high, dated to the late dynastic period (c.6th century BC). Formerly in a private collection in Germany, acquired c.1960, it is priced at €2100.
XAVIER EECKHOUT
STAND NUMBER: 170
Paris dealer Xavier Eeckhout, who specialises in animalier sculpture, will have a selection of works from the Antwerp school on his stand including a fine work by the leader of the group, Rembrandt Bugatti. Zebra and antelope, a model created c.1900-10, was produced in an edition of three by the Hébrard foundry.
Cast c.1910, this is signed, titled and numbered 1, and has the Hébrard stamp. It is priced at €450,000.
Eeckhout will also be taking a selection of ‘more affordable’ works among which is this head of a lioness by the Parisian sculptor Georges Lucien Guyot (1885-1973). The 11½in (24cm) high cire perdue Susse Frères cast of 1930, after a model created c.1925, will be priced at €20,000.
GALERIE DELALANDE
STAND NUMBER: 138
The Galerie Delalande is a left-bank dealer from Paris specialising in a cornucuopia of scientific, maritime and collectors’ items that range from globes and ship models to medical instruments and walking canes.
One of the stars on its stand at Maastricht will be this pair of miniature terrestrial and celestial globes measuring 3¾in (9.5cm) in diameter. Signed A New Globe of the Earth by N Lane 1776, they have brass meridians and are set on rare ivory feet (the gallery knows of only one other 18th century miniature pair of globes with ivory feet, those signed by Nathaniel Hill dated 1754 in a private collection). The Lane globes are priced in the region of €65,000-75,000.
Another of the gallery’s specialities is smoking equipment which includes a range of tobacco pipes. This fine-quality French Meerschaum of c.1900 with an amber stem and silver collar, has a bowl carved as a seated spaniel who is shown holding its master’s whip in its mouth. Measuring 6¾in (17cm) in length, in the original case and with a provenance to the Astley Museum, London, it is priced between €4000-6000.
KOOPMAN RARE ART
STAND NUMBER: 156
One of Koopman Rare Art’s highlights is this fantastic Shield of Achilles by pre-eminent English silversmith Philip Rundell. Described by the dealer as “the most spectacular example of Regency silver of all time”, the George IV silver-gilt masterpiece is cast in silver gilt and chased after a design by John Flaxman.
It bears the royal arms of Ernst Augustus, Duke of Cumberland and King of Hanover (1771-1851). It will take centre stage on Koopman’s stand at the fair and is offered for a price in the region of £5m.
At the other end of the scale Koopman has a number of lower-priced items including a large silver-gilt German two-handled wine tasting bowl. Made in Augsburg, c.1680, it carries a maker’s mark of Hans Jakob Wild II. The 6¼in (16cm) bowl has an asking price of £4850.
SYMBOLIC & CHASE
STAND NUMBER: 247
London’s Symbolic & Chase will be visiting TEFAF Maastricht for the first time and is bringing a range of high-end jewellery. Among the highlights on its stand will be two examples charting the evolution of the giardinetto design at the beginning of the 20th century. This 4in (9.5cm) long Belle Époque onyx and diamond devant-de-corsage brooch by Cartier Paris c.1910, “epitomises the style that Cartier explored between 1905-15”.
The dealership said the brooch style moved slowly away from the garland style of the end of the 19th century and this piece reveals how the bows and garlands popular in the 19th century became more vertical. This example also shows the more stylised floral vase motif which in this case is combined with a lily of the valley (often associated with Cartier in this period). The monochrome pallet is a classic element of the period, when coloured gemstones were abandoned until the 1920s. It is priced at the seven-figure level.
In contrast Symbolic & Chase is also bringing a colourful gem-set and diamond giardinetto brooch by Boucheron, c.1925, priced at under £100,000. The dealership said these “two pieces are of similar inspiration and yet, what a difference 10 years makes… increased abstraction, geometry and colour”.
JASON JACQUES GALLERY
STAND NUMBER: 613
Jason Jacques Gallery has been standing at TEFAF Maastricht for eight years including one as a showcase exhibitor. The New York dealer specialises in European artists’ ceramics of the late 19th and early 20th century as well as work by contemporary artists. This striking stoneware head of a faun is by the French ceramicist Jean-Joseph Carriès (1855-94) who is best known for his Japoniste stoneware forms. It dates from c.1885 and will be one of the highlight pieces at TEFAF where it will be priced at €325,000.
This year though, Jacques is emphasising the contemporary element of the gallery’s stock, which will make up roughly half the works on display. He is taking a selection of pieces by the American artist Shari Mendelson (b.1964), who uses recycled plastic to create vessels inspired by antique and ancient glass forms from the classical and Islamic world.
Pictured above is one of the 11 works that will be on show, Vessel with Blue Zigzag from 2017. It stands 20in (51cm) high, is made from repurposed plastic, hot glue, acrylic polymer, resin, mica, and monofilament and is priced at €5500.
DR JÖRN GÜNTHER RARE BOOKS
STAND NUMBER: 109
Dr Jörn Günther Rare Books from Basel, Switzerland, is bringing a range of books and manuscripts to Maastricht.
A regular at the fair, the book dealer’s highlights this year include the Fauquier Book of Hours that had disappeared from public view for more than half a century.
The manuscript on vellum is believed to be a commission c.1420-40 for a gentleman living in the diocese of Besançon, probably a member of the family Fau(l)quier of Poligny. It contains 13 miniatures illuminated by the Master of Walters 219 (believed to be an itinerant painter from Lombardy in Italy) and a master from Amiens. It is priced at €880,000.
At the other end of the scale the dealership will offer a number of items priced at five digits and lower, including a small c.1510 fishing manual Fischbüchlein from Strasbourg priced at €25,000 and an €8000 miniature on vellum from Bologna, Italy c.1350-1400. Soldier in a Landscape is a leaf from a 14th century antiphonary (a book made for liturgical choirs). The large historiated initial D features a bearded foot soldier in half-armour. He holds a heavy cudgel and a large shield and his shoes are Roman caligae – the military sandals worn by soldiers. Günther noted that “the light burgundy colour of the man’s face and legs is possibly a reference to a darker complexion”.
DAY & FABER
STAND NUMBER: 701
Day & Faber features a collection of oil sketches on paper by Thomas Fearnley (1802-42), one of the leading landscape painters of Norway during the 19th century.
He spent much of his career abroad and this collection, compiled by Asbjorn Lunde (1927-2017), records many of his travels around southern Italy, the Alps and Norway. It features small-scale plein-air pieces such as The Wetterhorn (1835), which is available for €26,000.
Fearnley’s tutor Christian Dahl dubbed these sketches “better than his finished paintings, for in them he gave of his true self as he was and as he felt when face-to-face with nature”.
Lunde, a New Yorker of Norwegian descent, formed the world’s top private collection of 19th century Norwegian and Swiss landscape paintings. Many of the works now on offer were included in the 2011 exhibition Forests, Rocks and Torrents: Norwegian and Swiss Landscapes from the Lunde Collection at London’s National Gallery.
Also on offer from Day & Faber is a black chalk and pencil drawing, Gathering Storm by Walther Gasch (1886-1932). The German painter, draftsman and graphic artist studied at the Dresden Academy before undertaking study trips to France, Italy and the Netherlands. His output includes still-lifes, landscapes and portraits. This scene is signed and dated W Gasch 1906 to the upper right, measures 13½ x 20½in (34 x 52.5cm) and is available for €1500.
ARTANCIENT
STAND NUMBER: 2
London dealership ArtAncient this year joins the Showcase section, which highlights young or recently established galleries. It brings a themed exhibition focusing on provenance, highlighting past owners of the pieces it offers.
One of its stand-out works is a fragmentary marble statuette of Zeus from the c.2nd-3rd century AD. It was acquired by Henry Howard, the 4th Earl of Carlisle, during his travels to Rome from 1714-39 and sold at Sotheby’s in 1991. It is now offered for €35,000.
Less expensive but equally fascinating is this silver lifetime-issue Alexander the Great tetradrachm from 325BC. From the collection of Brazilian businessman Raymundo Ottoni de Castro Maya (1894-1968), it is available for €5500.
DICKINSON
STAND NUMBER: 402
Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s 1903 oil on canvas Femme nue couchée (Gabrielle) features on the stand of Dickinson, where it will be presented alongside the artist’s Jeune Fille Assise, a smaller Renoir nude.
Femme nue couchée is a late work by the artist when he was free to paint without being limited by financial concerns. The work measures 2ft 1in x 5ft 1in (65cm x 1.55m) and shows one of his favourite models, combining his interest in Orientalism, the idealised nude and historical precedents.
On the same stand, a c.1938 drawing, Femme au Collier, by Henri Matisse is offered for a six-figure sum. It is thought to be a portrait of Lydia Délectorskaya, his model and assistant. The collaboration, which continued until 1939, saw Lydia assuming not only the role of principal model but also that of studio manager and a painter in her own right.
CHARLES BEDDINGTON
STAND NUMBER: 373
A view of the Thames at Westminster Bridge by Canaletto – offered for £4m by Charles Beddington at TEFAF Maastricht 2019.
London Old Master dealer Charles Beddington told ATG that the pictures he is taking to Maastricht this year, which include ‘unseen’ works by Bernardo Bellotto and Michele Marieschi, represented the highest calibre selection of works he has ever taken to TEFAF.
He will also offer two exceptional London scenes by Canaletto (1697-1768), one depicting Old Somerset House which was unpublished until 2006 and priced at £6m, and the other showing the Thames at Westminster Bridge, which is offered for £4m. The latter, an 18½in x 2ft 6in (47 x 77cm) oil on canvas, has been identified as depicting the Lord Mayor’s Procession in May 1750 and was painted for William Barnard, Bishop of Derry (d.1767).
A depiction of a grey-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus), one of a group of eight School of Calcutta ornithological watercolours of birds from c.1810 which are available as a set for £40,000 from Charles Beddington at TEFAF Maastricht 2019.
Beddington is also offering eight School of Calcutta ornithological watercolours of birds from c.1810 which are available as a set for £40,000. All measuring 20 x 14½in (51 x 37cm), this example, above, shows a grey-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus).
He will also have a video installation on his stand for the first time (a film showing Venice made in 2011 by Tim Davies, priced at £20,000)
