Vagabond Antiques UK have brought this rare Italian Baroque cassettone to the Treasure House fair in London.
Treasure House, the flagship London summer fair, is in full swing this weekend at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea. Some of the world’s leading antique dealers are in attendance with a spectacular selection of furniture, silver, decorative arts and jewellery, boasting extraordinary provenance and the aura of the greatest makers of their time. This is the 3rd edition of a fair which is from a long tradition of summer art fairs in London. The 2025 edition marks the 91st anniversary of the establishment of the Antique Dealers’ Fair, later the Grosvenor House Art and Antiques Fair, followed in 2010 by Masterpiece.
Coulbourn and Sons will bring this 18th century child’s wardrobe in the form of a doll’s house to the Treasure House Fair in London.
No less than 70 internationally renowned exhibitors will take part in the Treasure House Fair at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea in London from June 26-July 1. Among leading British dealers taking part are Ronald Phillips, Richard Green, Osborne Samuel, Wartski, Adrian Sassoon, Butchoff Antiques, MacConnal-Mason, Godson & Coles, Koopman Rare Art, Frank Partridge, S.J. Phillips, Adrian Alan and Frank Partridge. They will present a spectacular selection of furniture, silver, decorative arts and jewellery.
International galleries include three New York institutions: the antique jeweller À La Vieille Russie, silver specialists S.J. Shrubsole and the leading authority in antique porcelain Michele Beiny. “We like to think of ourselves as a festival rather than an art fair” director and co-founder Thomas Woodham-Smith said. His grandmother was the historian Cecil Woodham-Smith, author of The Great Hunger. The Treasure House Fair was founded in 2023 by Woodham-Smith and Harry Van der Hoorn, co founders of the famed Masterpiece fair which ran from 2009-2022.
Phillip Mould will bring this c1932 Still Life with Fan by Vanessa Bell to the Treasure House Fair.
Limerick Racecourse is the convenient venue for a two day antique, vintage and collectibles fair today and tomorrow. With dealers from around the country and more than 60 stands offering everything from Irish art and furniture to jewellery, silver, vintage fashion, arms, militaria, coins, banknotes, porcelain and all sorts of collectible items this event is a magnet for collectors and anyone in pursuit of something quirky and different.
This big Limerick fair takes place several times each year, is hugely popular and draws an audience from throughout Munster and beyond. The appetite for fairs like this is undiminished. Hibernian Antique Fairs held their first fair in Cork for more than five years at Corrin Event Centre near Fermoy a couple of weeks ago and more than 1,000 people turned out in what was one of the biggest attendances at a one day fair in 40 years.
Stained glass from Birr Castle, the 1851 Plan of Cork by John Tallis, affordable antique furniture, new Irish art and vintage fashion can all be found at the Cork antique fair in Fermoy on May 25.
After an absence of five years Hibernian Antique Fairs will return to a new venue in Cork for a full to the brim event with 40 dealers from around Ireland. It will be held at the Corrin Event Centre three miles from Fermoy and just off exit 15 on the M8. There is ample space and lots of available parking for what promises to be a great day out.
1851 Map of Cork with insets
In a city still waiting for its event centre the ever popular Cork antique fair outgrew its previous locations and came to an end. Finding somewhere to host it has been difficult. In contrast the antique fairs at spacious Limerick Racecourse have repeatedly demonstrated strong demand and an appetite for more which speaks to the resilience of the antique trade in turbulent economic times.
At fairs in Limerick and Kerry organiser Robin O’Donnell is often asked when will he return to Cork. Now that the multi purpose Cork Marts complex has become available the answer should be more often than before. In advance of the first fair at Corrin he is already planning another in October.
Vintage headwear from Eily Henry
The market is continually evolving as collecting habits change. Unusual once off items are highly collectible and Norman Allison of Annamoe Antiques will present two windows in solid oak frames from Birr Castle. These are accompanied by an original 1983 receipt from Mike McGlynn Antiques, Bunratty, Co Clare in which he states that the c1835 stained glass panels were by the Earl of Rosse. The second earl, friend of Wolfe Tone and a critic of absentee landlords, was father of astronomer William Parsons, 3rd Earl, who in 1845 built what was then the world’s largest telescope in Birr.
Collectors will be interested in an 1851 Plan of Cork by John Tallis, a pair of Neoclassical 19th century bronze Medici urns on Siena marble plinths and a 6th century Limoges grisaille enamel plaque of a shepherdess. Treasures of Athlone will bring new art by James Brohan and the Purple Onion Gallery will offer a mix of contemporary art, photography, whiskey, wine and cigars.
Vintage hats to catch the eye can be found at Eily Henry’s stand and Eddie Moylan will bring some affordable gold jewellery. Greenes of Drogheda, Vintage Velvet and Raymond Byrne are among those offering antique furniture and a selection of smaller antique pieces which can be carried home along with everything from vintage toys to bullion to coins and banknotes. It all adds up to a a great day out enhanced by a sense of exploration and inspiration.
Vincent van Gogh – Still Life with Two Sacks and a Bottle
TEFAF Maastricht 2025 has successfully concluded its 38th edition, reporting robust sales across all collecting categories and reaffirming its status as the world’s premier fair for art, antiques and design. Over 50,000 visitors, including international collectors, connoisseurs and institutions, converged on Maastricht to acquire the finest works spanning over 7,000 years of art history.
Attendees included representatives from prestigious institutions including: The Art Institute of Chicago; Château de Chantilly; Cleveland Museum of Art; Fine Art Museums of San Francisco; Hong Kong Palace Museum; Louvre; Louvre Abu Dhabi; Metropolitan Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Modern Art, Paris; New Museum, New York; Musée d’Orsay; National Gallery, London; National Gallery of Canada; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Suermondt Ludwig Museum; Rijksmuseum; Toledo Museum of Art; Van Gogh Museum, Zayed National Museum and many others. Among many sales the US firm of MS Rau antiques sold this van Gogh Still Life with Two Sacks and a Bottle to a private collector. The asking price was $4.75 million.
A set of four George II candlesticks by Robert Calderwood, Dublin c1745 at the Limerick fair.
Collectors know all about having to make choices. One choice available this St. Patrick’s Weekend is Ireland’s biggest fair or Europe’s biggest fair. Limerick or Maastricht. If you can avail of either more power to your elbow.
The array of dealers at Limerick Racecourse today and tomorrow is impressive. They have assembled from Donegal to Dublin, Belfast to Kerry, Tipperary to Roscommon, Antrim and Drogheda to Kilkenny and Galway and all points between. On offer is everything from silver, rugs, jewellery and porcelain to art, antique furniture, militaria, vintage fashion and collectibles of every type.
TEFAF Maastricht is a world fair which brings curators from major museums and heavy hitting private collectors with deep pockets to a beautiful Dutch town every year. It runs until March 20. So refreshing to see the super rich looking at objects ranging from antiquities to cutting edge contemporary art instead power playing with global politics on an inept scale. World domination aside if you can’t find something you want at either of these venues you are just not looking properly.
Gallerie Maria Wettergren, Paris will show After the Storm (Square) by Gjertrud Hals at TEFAF Maastricht : Photo Omar Sejnaes.
Carl Fabergé – An Imperial enamelled gold and gem-set egg pendant 1896-1908
This Fabergé egg, made with silver, gold, enamel and diamonds, will be feature by Wartski at TEFAF, Maastricht. The egg pendant, measuring just 2.4 cm, is decorated with opalescent white guilloché enamel, bound with a single band of rose cut diamonds mounted in silver, from which spring alternating chased yellow and green gold oak leaves. Wartski is a British firm of antique dealers specialising in Russian works of art.
Among many highlights at TEFAF, which offers unparalleled collecting opportunities, is a grand piano by Ruhlmann with Macassar ebony veneer, walnut, and violet wood and a case ornamented with gilded wood and gilded bronze. The Pleyel piano was commissioned by François Ducharne, then head of Soieries F. Ducharne, for his private mansion in Paris. This rare piano will be showcased alongside a unique collection of Ruhlmann furniture and objects, including rugs, armchairs, pedestal tables, and a coffee table, all featured by Galerie Marcilhac of Rue Bonaparte in Paris.
TEFAF. globally recognised as the premier fair for fine art, antiques, and design, runs from March 15 – 20 with an invitation only preview today and tomorrow.
A rare Youghal Art Metal Workers mirror, Killarney furniture and a treen collection
The enduring popularity of antique fairs lies in discoveries waiting to be made. The St. Patrick’s Weekend Fair at Limerick Racecourse on March 15 and 16 is no exception. Here you will find everything from a French Restauration chest of drawers in flame mahogany and a George I sugar bowl made by George Newenham in Cork c1720 to Killarney furniture and a rare Youghal Art Metal Workers mirror.
Shortly after the Cork International Exhibition of 1902, where Thomas Sparks of the Keswick School of Industrial Arts had given demonstrations, skilled local dockyard workers and coppersmiths aided by Sparks formed the Youghal art group in 1904. A number of their large mirrors were purchased by the Abbey Theatre. Ink Jar antiques and gallery from Donegal will bring a circular Youghal mirror to the Limerick Fair along with Killarney wood pieces and a collection of treen.
Cork silver dating back more than 300 years is not something you come across every day so there will be significant interest in the Newenham sugar bowl at Weldons stand. They will also showcase four Irish George II candlesticks by Robert Calderwood, Dublin c1745. Ashbrook Antiques of Roscrea will bring French furniture. With dealers from right around the country this packed to rafters fair will offer everything from art and antique furniture to porcelain, jewellery, vintage fashion, Irish coins and banknotes, Oriental rugs and all sorts of collectibles.
Centuries of discrimination cannot be overturned in a blink but as the search for overlooked artists gathers pace the small steps being taken at TEFAF might herald a giant leap for womankind.
Abandon by Camille Claudel at TEFAF.
In Maastricht next month The European Fine Art Fair will highlight the work of women artists. This trend is firmly established and unstoppable. New discoveries are waiting to be made.
We know the big names like Claude Lalanne, Louise Bourgeois and Hilma af Klint. But how about Camille Claudel, Emma Soyer, Gjertrud Hals, Marie Bracquemond, Hilla von Rebay, Juliana Seraphim, Bianca Boni, Hannelore Baron and Sheila Hicks. Many of them are relatively obscure, largely by virtue of their gender. Their art is about to be brought to a wider, global audience as all of them will feature at Maastricht.
Camille Claudel (1864-1943) is a renowned sculptor but her work is little represented in major international institutions, especially when compared to that of her master, Rodin. Galerie Malaquais of Paris will highlight her work at TEFAF.
The Eye by Juliana Seraphim (1934-2005) at TEFAF.
The London gallery Richard Saltoun will show work by Juliana Seraphim, a Palestinian artist and a leading member of the Middle Eastern art scene from the 1960’s to her death in 2005. Seraphim is known for her unique Surrealist style and iconography that engaged deeply with gender struggle, the liberation of female sexuality and agency, nature and spirituality.
Masque c1928 by Hilla von Rebay at TEFAF.
The visionary artist and creator Hilla von Rebay (1890-1967) was part of the first wave of abstraction to sweep across the US. She is best known for her role in the creation of the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum in New York which she founded and directed as curator. Graphic work by the artist, developed in parallel with her curatorial role, is now being rediscovered and recognised as a major influence on the American art scene, both formally and theoretically. This art will be featured by Galerie Raphael Durazzo of Paris.
The name Emma Soyer is unfamiliar to most museum goers today but she was as well known as any of her contemporaries from the mid 1830’s to the 1840’s before her tragically early death. According to Colnaghi: Elliott Fine Art of London, who will showcase her art, very few artists have fallen as dramatically from public and art historical awareness as Soyer.
The Two Inseparables by Emma Soyer at TEFAF.
No less than nine major figures of modern and contemporary art – Ella Bergmann-Michel, Hannelore Baron, Louise Bourgeois, Pierette Bloch, Marcel Cahn, Sonia Delauney, Sheila Hicks, Vera Molnar and the American feminist artist Mira Schor – will be highlighted by Galerie Zlotowski of Paris at a booth entirely dedicated to women artists.
Galerie Pauline Pavec will unveil unseen works by Marie Bracquemond, who ranks alongside Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt among the greatest figures of Impressionism, at TEFAF. The selection of art by women at the fair ranges from Roman miniatures to contemporary sculpture, Modern masters and Palestinian Surrealism.
The broad ranging European Fine Art Fair at Maastricht enjoys an unrivalled appeal as a destination for collectors, curators, art market professionals and art lovers. From March 15-20 it will feature more than 270 prestigious dealers from 22 countries in a not to be missed fair with some of the finest works currently on the market spanning 7000 years from antiquity to the present day.
Tiziano Vecellio, known as Titian – Madonna and Child with St. Mary Magdalene
Not every fair boasts a Titian but there is one among the highlights at TEFAF Maastricht which runs from March 15-20. Trinity Fine Art of London will bring this painting by the Venetian master of a Madonna and Child with St. Mary Magdalene dated to around 1555-1560. It is being brought to light after being hidden from public view in various private collections for more than two centuries. The picture is remarkable for its sophisticated composition and emotional depth; the superb quality of the brushwork and the excellent condition of the painted surface give this picture the edge over other versions of the same subject hanging in some of the world’s leading museums, such as the Hermitage, the Gallerie degli Uf izi, and the Museo di Capodimonte. Fascinating details relating to Titian’s studio practices were revealed when the painting was X-rayed in 2024, in this case demonstrating how Titian modi ied and changed the composition
