Date: Fri 20-Mar-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: CAROLL

Quick Words:

RichmondAcademy

Full Text:

Richmond Academy Of Medicine Show

w/ cuts

By Joyce Ruskin Hanes

RICHMOND, VA. -- The Richmond Academy of Medicine Auxiliary Foundation, Inc,

hosted its 35th annual Antiques Show the weekend of February 6 in the Science

Museum of Virginia, formerly an elegant train station with domed ceilings and

architectural details in the classical style.

The museum was a perfect setting for an antiques show, even with the its

anachronistic display of air travel just outside the entrance, complete with

sounds of jets and moon shuttles taking off.

Proceeds from the show go to Camp RAMA, a camp for children with developmental

disabilities, and to the science museum's educational program, as well as to

five other worthy beneficiaries.

The preview party on February 5 was a formal affair, beginning with speeches

and a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and ending with chocolate-dipped strawberries

and champagne. The event was well-attended and successful for exhibitors, as

several booths sprouted red sold tags by the end of the evening.

On Friday, a benefit brunch/luncheon featured a lecture by Lady Henrietta

Spencer-Churchill, a British interior designer, author, and host of Classic

Interiors, a British television program. A Collector's Forum took place on

Saturday evening, this year featuring Donald Sack, who gave his ever-popular

talk on "Being Your Own Expert in American Furniture: The Process of

Examination." Both events drew large audiences and encouraged people to attend

the show despite the rainy weather.

Of course, the backbone of any antiques show is the dealer lineup. The

Richmond show has 41 exhibitors, and this year there were only two new

additions (one cancellation was due to illness), indicating sales are strong

enough to keep dealers coming back year after year, from as far away as

Florida, New York and New England.

Several of the exhibitors displayed Continental furniture. Kenny Ball Antiques

of Charlottesville, Va., showed an Eighteenth Century Italian cupboard with

its original paint, priced at $6,500. It sported carved designs on the doors

and sides depicting urns, tassels, and other decorative elements, and was a

rare diminutive size. He also had a child's-size bench from Italy, dating to

the late Eighteenth or early Nineteenth Century, for $2,200.

Edith Medlin of Raleigh, N.C., is known for her French country furniture and

accessories. A large French fruitwood farm table was $4,800. Atop this was a

lovely pair of wire planters, painted white, for $450.

Beck's Antiques and Books of Fredericksburg, Va., brought an unusual Russian

dresser dating from the early Nineteenth Century. Priced at $5,800, it was

made of beautifully grained mahogany. One could see the strong French

influence present in Russia during that period.

Kendell Chew and John Formicola specialize in miniature furniture and

paintings. In the furniture department this time they had a few wonderful

pieces from the Continent. The most breathtaking was a child's chair from the

late Eighteenth Century made in either France or Italy. It had its original

upholstery and original gray paint. They also had a miniature Dutch bombe

three-drawer chest in fruitwood.

The show always has a loan exhibit, and this year's was the Imari of local

collectors Dr and Mrs Leslie W. Rose, Jr. In anticipation of this display,

several of the dealers brought pieces of Imari to sell. According to McNiel &

Reed of Salisbury, Md., the porcelain sold quite well. Both the Imari in the

exhibition and that for sale was Japanese and from the 1870s and later.

Fuka Gawa, who owned a large porcelain factory in the 1870s, was the person

responsible for the large amount of export of this popular porcelain. He

traveled through the western countries to determine the tastes of the people,

then went home and created numerous design books so his factory could produce

the wares to accommodate that taste. The factory is still in production today,

using his original books. Most of the Imari seen on the market is based on

those designs.

In addition to McNiel and Reed, J. Thomas Melvin had a sampling of Imari

porcelain. A large pair of temple jars with foo dog finials were sold, and a

punchbowl was still available for $3,200.

James Galley of Lederach, Penn., is another specialist in Oriental porcelain,

but his focus is Chinese examples of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.

He had a large selection of Canton, Rose Medallion, Fitzhugh and armorial

decoration. He also showed Nineteenth Century figures of horses and some

colorful examples of porcelain fruit ranging in price from $485 for a

pomegranate to $950 for a Buddha's hand citron. Next to these was a whimsical

teapot in the form of a monkey for $875. All exhibitors with Oriental

porcelain reported good sales.

Solomon Suchard of Shaker Heights, Ohio, specializes in French Quimper

pottery. They had several pieces decorated by the noted Quimper artist Moreau.

Moreau was a fisherman with an artistic bent, and although he had no formal

training, he worked as a decorator for six years (He then returned to

fishing). His works were more polished than the typical rustic decoration

associated with Quimper, and command good prices. Two plates depicting farmers

with their families and crests at the top were available for $1,450 each.

Another artist, Alfred Beau, was a master painter before he began decorating

pottery. He is considered the best artist in the 300-year-history of Quimper.

A plate with a vibrant parrot by Beau was priced at $2,250.

English pottery was well represented in the booths of Anne Lowry, the

Shaeffers, and Hanes and Ruskin. The Shaeffers of Glyndon, Md., had a

wonderful display of some rare lusterware: Two pink luster watch hutches were

each marked "Dixon Austin" and were priced $2,350 and $2,600. An amusing

window rest, also in pink luster, sported the face of George III and was

$1,200.

Anne Lowry of Melrose, Fla., focuses on blue transfer decorated pearlware. Two

large soup tureens were of particular note. One was made by Hull and showed

the palace of the King of Delhi and was priced at $1,695. The other was marked

by Wedgwood and showed a port scene. Even with some restoration, it was a

reasonable $1,275.

There was plenty of American furniture, and if the show was to have a nickname

for 1998, it might be "The Year of the Sideboard." Five sideboards had been

sold by Saturday night, by Matthews and Shank, Aileen Minor, Anne Lowry, Anne

Pelot, and Ivin and Dolores Boyd.

Most of the collectors reported strong sales in every category, and the

committee was happy with the results of its collective efforts. There was a

disconcerting note at the end of the show, however: the museum will be under

renovation for the next two years, and the show will lose its elegant location

until the year 2000.