A Victorian crazy patchwork quilt is set to be one of the highlights at the first Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair (DATF) of 2024, a year in which textiles loom large across the art world.
The winter event runs from January 23-28, one of three editions that take place annually. Among the 120 exhibitors is Drennan & Sturrock, featuring the quilt, 5ft 10in x 5ft 10in (1.79 x 1.8m), which features two patches showing images of hens and kittens respectively.
Beyond the quilt, DATF hosts several specialists in carpets, rugs and textiles such as Gallery Yacou, Joshua Lumley and Katharine Pole, while it shares its Battersea venue with the London Antique Rug & Textile Art Fair (LARTA - see preview).
Another textile highlight is a piece of Contemporary embroidery by Nigel Atkinson, in cotton and Matka on wild Eri silk and dyed with natural pigments set to feature on the stand of MadeinBritaly.
Textiles seem set to be a theme of the months ahead. Major exhibitions are running at the Barbican (Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art), The Met (Weaving Abstraction in Ancient and Modern Art) and the Smithsonian (Subersive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women).
Next week, The Holburne Museum in Bath opens Lost Threads, a large installation of Dutch wax fabric pieces by Turner Prize artist Lubaina Himid, while a show featuring recent textile art by Jojo Abot begins at the LA Louver gallery in Los Angeles.
The market is getting in on the action too, with Bonhams auctioning the Donald Gant collection of carpets and textiles in New York on January 18.
Skull face
Ticketed at £9500 on the stand of David Levi is this large Italian memento mori plaster bust, c.1800.
Other highlights around DATF include a distinctive memento mori bust in plaster, c.1800, offered for £9500 by David Levi. The well-dressed and coiffed figure features a possible family crest to the front and a maker’s mark to the rear.
Perhaps more familiar in form is a large English gate-leg table, c.1660, in yew with an oval top above four central legs and flaps supported on spirally turned legs with scratch moulded stretchers. Featuring spirally turned legs with scratch moulded stretchers, the 5ft 9in (1.75m) long table is offered by Wakelin & Linfield for £12,500.
Cal Smith Gallery features a monumental bronze and handmade glass coffee table in four parts by German post-war sculptor Lothar Klute, offering it for £17,000.
Among the 20th century works is a monumental bronze and glass coffee table in four parts by German post-war sculptor Lothar Klute. Each of the handmade pieces, which combined measure 8ft 6in (2.6m) long, are signed and dated ’91 stamped into the bronze. It is available from Cal Smith Gallery for £17,000.
This 17th century English gate leg table in solid yew is priced £12,500 on the stand of Wakelin & Linfield.
Newcomers to the fair this year include Brillig & Borogrove and McBain & Byrne. There are also two exhibitors joining from Tribal Art London (TAL), the fair which last year started sharing a venue with DATF in the autumn. These are Victoria Rogers, organiser of TAL, and Tom Hurst. Among those returning after some time away are Holly Johnson Antiques and Garret & Hurst, while regulars include Chalet White, Darnley Fine Art, Hossack & Gray and Mark J West.
Each edition features a different display in the foyer.
Usually, it is a thematic stand sourced from exhibitors’ stock, but this time there is something slightly different: Italian wallpaper manufacturer Pictalab exhibiting its new range designed in collaboration with Nicolò Castellini.
