A triptych by Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1502-50), offered for a price in the region of €900,000 by Caretto & Occhinegro.
TEFAF Maastricht roars back into view for its 37th staging with 270 dealers from 22 countries, 7000 years’ worth of art and artefacts and a handful of initiatives.
Despite its address in the southern Netherlands, the fair, which runs from March 7-14, regularly hosts a range of British exhibitors.
Kent Antiques, Sydney L Moss, Daniel Katz Gallery, Ben Janssens Oriental Art, Koopman Rare Art and Osborne Samuel are among the many dealers showing at this edition.
For fairgoers, the most obvious addition is likely to be the Focus section (see page 44) where various exhibitors team up to provide cross-collecting opportunities alongside the fair’s usual dedicated stands.
Preservation spotlight
The organisation also has two new partnerships both concentrating on the preservation of cultural heritage: the Netherlands Commission for UNESCO and the Venetian Heritage and the Italian Ministry of Culture.
With UNESCO, TEFAF has launched the Cultural Heritage Summit, which takes place on Monday, March 11, while with Venetian Heritage the fair presents its loan exhibition Venetian Heritage for the Ca’ d’Oro Museum, promoting the museum’s permanent collection and its restoration and renovation project.
Adding to the schedule of programmes is TEFAF Talks, covering topics such as Frans Hals and conservation, as well as TEFAF Meet the Experts featuring firms such as Agnews, Wartski and Jorge Welsh Works of Art.
Here we take a look at some of the top offerings coming to the huge fair and meet a few of the dealers attending it.
Highlights around the stands
Italian firm Caretto & Occhinegro features a rediscovered monumental triptych, 2ft 10in x 3ft (87 x 92cm), by Flemish artist Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1502-50). Pictured above, it depicts the biblical scene of Christ’s brief transfiguration into his divine state on Mount Tabor. An extensive catalogue on the work will be available at the fair compiled by art historian Pieter van den Brink. The picture is offered for a price in the region of €900,000.
A 7th century Islamic relic offered by Shapero Rare Books for €1m.
A 7th century Islamic relic comes from a private UK collector to the stand of Shapero Rare Books where it is offered for €1m. Dated to around 50 years after the death of the prophet Muhammad, the early Qur’an single leaf comes from the Hijaz region in the Arabian Peninsula, which includes Islamic holy sites Mecca and Medina. Roxana Kashani, Shapero’s Near East & Islamic specialist, says: “The formalisation of the written Arabic language along with the developments in the aesthetics of manuscript production in the 8th century firmly places our manuscript in the 7th century making it one the very earliest examples of Qur’anic script.”
Indo-Ottoman Kilij with a Mughal jade hilt identified as a piece dating to the reign of Sultan Mahmud I (r.1730-54). It is offered for around €100,000 by Runjeet Singh.
This Indo-Ottoman Kilij with a Mughal jade hilt dates to the early 18th century. Thanks to its tughra (calligraphic seal) and palaeographic analysis, it can be specifically identified as a piece dating to the reign of Sultan Mahmud I (r.1730-54). It is offered for around €100,000 by Runjeet Singh. The Warwickshire dealer returns for his third TEFAF, showcasing a collection of Asian arms, armour and works of art with the show Sultans, Eunuchs & Sikhs - named for the owners of the various pieces on offer.
Half-page illumination from Guillaume de Digulleville’s allegorical work Le Pèlerinage de la Vie Humaine, offered by Dr Jörn Günther Rare Books for SwFr1.75m.
This half-page illumination from Guillaume de Digulleville’s allegorical work Le Pèlerinage de la Vie Humaine shows the pilgrim - the story’s central character - arriving at the Sea of the World. Offered by Dr Jörn Günther Rare Books for SwFr1.75m, the prose version of the popular poem was made for the wedding of Jeanne de Laval in 1478 and includes its much rarer sequel Pèlerinage de l’Ame. It features five half-page illuminations as well as 91 miniatures and tells the story of the pilgrim’s treacherous journey fraught with temptation and peril.
A pair of candelabra (and shown here with an amber standing cup), available for €260,000 from Kunstkammer Georg Laue.
A variety of Renaissance turned amber pieces appears on the stand of Munich firm Kunstkammer Georg Laue. This pair of candelabra, available for €260,000 (and shown here with an amber standing cup), seem to come from late 16th century Königsberg based on their form and decoration. Such pieces were valued for the material as well as their craftsmanship. Königsberg makers targeted princely collectors when producing works such as these.
A Vase of Flowers on a Marble Table by Zélie-Julie d’Leindre, available for £30,000 from Colnaghi Elliott Master Drawings.
Joining the main fair this year after standing in the Spotlight section in 2023, Colnaghi Elliott Master Drawings has a variety of offerings ranging from Old Masters to 20th century works. Among them is A Vase of Flowers on a Marble Table (1819) in gouache on vellum by Zélie-Julie d’Leindre (1795-1858). The French artist was well respected in her day and was an early pupil of Pierre-Joseph Redouté. Many of her works are floral still-lifes executed on porcelain or vellum. This example is available for £30,000.
A Renaissance locket pendant offered for $100,000 by Les Enluminures.
Medieval jewellery and manuscripts specialist Les Enluminures brings this Renaissance locket pendant with intricate openwork, enamel, rubies and pearl to TEFAF, offering it for $100,000. The dealership, which has locations in Paris, Chicago and New York, celebrates a new stand design at the fair as well as new placement on the main aisle with an exhibition of Books of Hours and, alongside that, a collection of illuminated leaves.
L’Arco di Settimio Severo by Canaletto, offered for a price of around €2m by DYS44 Lampronti Gallery.
DYS44 Lampronti Gallery, the London specialist in Italian Old Master painting of the 17th and 18th centuries, brings as one of its TEFAF highlights this oil on canvas by Canaletto, L’Arco di Settimio Severo, 3ft 4in x 4ft 3in (1.02 x 1.30m), which it offers for a price of around €2m.
Ancient Egyptian fragment from the New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty (c.1295-1200BC), offered by Kallos Gallery for €115,000.
Amenmose, the royal scribe to Ramesses II, is depicted on this ancient Egyptian fragment from the New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty (c.1295-1200BC). The fragment is thought to be from a doorjamb in Amenmose’s tomb in Khokha. Although the tomb was discovered officially in 1948, some artefacts from it, probably including this one, were dispersed during the 19th century including a sculpture of the scribe now at the British Museum. The relief is available from London antiquities firm Kallos Gallery for €115,000.
Chinese Export items are a key focus for furniture dealer Thomas Coulborn & Sons. This year it brings an 18th century black lacquer and gilt pagoda in its original silk-lined case, offering it for €125,000.
Pagodas were popular symbols of Chinese design in 18th and 19th century Europe - King George IV bought six porcelain examples for the Brighton Pavilion - and they were used as decorative motifs in oil paintings and women’s fans. Dating from c.1790, this example, 2ft 2in (66cm) high, is comprised of seven separated graduated wooden boxes and is decorated with Chinese garden landscapes, vases of flowers and mythical figures in black, red, green and gilt lacquer.
A bust of the goddess Roma by Vincenzo Pacetti (1746-1820), offered for a price in the region of £700,000 by Stuart Lochhead Sculpture.
Offered for a price in the region of £700,000, this monumental bust of the goddess Roma by Vincenzo Pacetti (1746-1820) appears on the stand of Stuart Lochhead Sculpture from London.
A silver trophy with an olive branch attributed Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956), offered for €58,000 by Galerie Bel Etage.
A highlight on the stand of Amsterdam’s Galerie Bel Etage is this silver trophy with an olive branch attributed Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956) of the Vienna Succession and the Wiener Werkstätte. After the latter company’s bankruptcy, Alexander Sturm produced many works for Hoffmann probably including this cast silver chased and hammered piece, which is offered for €58,000.
A pastel on cardboard by Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916), available from Antonacci Lapiccirella Fine Art for €600,000-800,000.
Fresh to the market comes this Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916) picture painted before he produced the Futurist work for which he is best known. At the time the work was completed, the artist was living in Rome and was fascinated by Divisionism, looking to artists of Munich and Vienna as well as the painter Munch for inspiration. Recently exhibited at Boccioni 1900-1910 at Magnani Rocca Foundation, the pastel on cardboard, 20 x 14in (51 x 35cm), is available from Rome’s Antonacci Lapiccirella Fine Art for €600,000-800,000.
Meissen Mars vase made for Tsarina Elisabeth (1709-62), offered by Langeloh and priced at €150,000.
Priced €150,000, this Mars vase, 17in (43cm) high, is from a set of planetary Meissen vases made for Tsarina Elisabeth (1709-62). It bears the swords mark and is impressed number 21 for Johann Gottlieb Geithner, the factory’s specialist for similarly large pieces. It was modelled by Johann Kaendler (1744), painted by Gottlob Birckner and decorated by Christian Häntschel (1745). Passed down through the Tsar’s family until 1917, the vase then went to a collection in Berlin and is now offered by Langeloh of Weinheim, Germany.
