A brutalist French lamp featuring an agate slice and rock quartz crystal wands is among the many and varied offerings at the Bruton Decorative Antiques Fair.
Designed by Claude Victor Boeltz, it exemplifies the ‘Exploded Bronze’ technique made famous in the early 1970s when luxury retailers such as Fred Joaillier and Cartier, Paris, carried the French designer’s products.
“This lamp is a work of art and a definite conversation piece,” says dealer Mary Hossack of Life Interiors who offers it at the fair for £2800.
She joins more than 50 exhibitors at the event from October 18-20 in the Haynes International Motor Museum in Sparkford, Somerset, a little way outside the wealthy hub of Bruton.
This is the fair’s fourth staging and has a theme of ‘rustic to refined luxury – antiques in the contemporary home’.
Buyers can expect to find traditional antiques as well as decorative offerings for home and garden including folk art and Mid-century design. The offerings span time and place from a c.1780 Dutch display cabinet to a 20th century Hollywood Regency bamboo cocktail table by McGuire.
Among the fresh faces this year are Lorfords Antiques of Tetbury and La Boheme Collectables, which offers Mid-century glass from the Czech Republic.
It is also the first major decorative fair for Newton Abbot dealership Franklin and Hare since it opened doors to its new premises two and a half years ago.
The firm brings an eclectic mix of items, including some pieces from the south-west, such as a 19th century bank of drawers from a hardware shop. This features original paint and heavy-duty iron handles.
Other dealers for this staging include Youll’s Antiques, Elham Antiques and Linda North.
Sue Ede and Peter Hodder of Cooper Events launched the fair as a companion event to their Bath Decorative Antiques Fair, which takes place in March.
The Bruton event kicks off with a trade preview on Friday morning.
Mark Hill of BBC’s Antiques Roadshow hosts a tour of highlights for visitors. These will also be streamed on the fair’s social media channels.
