Date: Fri 27-Mar-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: JUDYC

Quick Words:

Olympia

Full Text:

From The Ancient To The Avantgarde

London's Spring Olympia Covers 4,000 Years Of Art And Antiques

w/cuts

By Marion Harris

Photos By Jerry Rosenfeld

LONDON -- The Olympia Spring Fine Art and Antiques Fair, held during the last

week of February at Earls Court in London, is one of a group of three related

Olympia events each year. Of the three, it is the only one without a dateline.

Its two sister shows -- the largest and best-known in June, and another in

November -- feature only antiques, allowing the spring fair its own different

image and identity.

This year, the inclusion of two new features in addition to the 170 dealers

made for a show that was particularly wide-ranging and innovative. Both firsts

were at opposite ends of the timeline, from 2000 BC to contemporary cutting

edge.

The loan exhibit, "Phoenicia, Its Art and Influence," the first exhibit of its

kind in Britain, generated much interest. Unlike Greek and Roman

civilizations, the history of Phoenicia is hardly known in the United Kingdom,

remaining obscure and largely unstudied. A people, rather than a nation, the

Phoenicians were inventive explorers, building the first commercial maritime

fleets. They were natural sailors and traders who founded cities and

established a pattern of trade around the Mediterranean rim.

The exhibit comprised rare artifacts exemplifying the finely developed

craftmanship of that culture. Exquisite detailing marks both everyday and

devotional objects. The coins, seals, small bronzes and alabaster statues,

urns, and votives dated two millenia before Christ.

In high contrast, a new company, Modernground, was launched at this fair. It

made its debut exhibiting the works of over 30 British contemporary designers

of furniture, lighting, ceramics, jewelry, and textiles. Headed by Rachael

Barraclough of London and her informed and enthusiastic staff, Modernground

broke new ground by offering classics of the future.

Modernground was pleased with the public's response. A desk by John Makepeace,

the British counterpart of American furniture maker Wendell Castle, was

$70,000. Handbags by Lulu Guiness sold well at under $300, and orders were

being taken for John Haskins' Zipper Cabinet, $2,000.

Mingling Twentieth Century masterworks with antiques, Spring Olympia, now in

its fifth year, attracts customers who put beauty before age. While antiques

always find ready customers here, this show also saw contemporary art and

sculpture dealers pleased with sales, with some reporting their most

successful Olympia fair to date.

To illustrate the balance that Olympia provides, let's enter Lucy Johnson's

world and one of her cleverly reconstructed period interiors. Dealing in fine

Baroque furniture and Eighteenth Century Delft, the London dealer uses her

booth to recreate a setting particularly attentive to detail and historical

nuance. Period sconces, oak panelling, and a hand-painted compass design floor

were the perfect foil for Queen Anne wing chairs reupholstered in documentary

damask, a period fireplace surround, 1730s side tables, and Regency mirrors

and accessories.

Although not necessarily displayed in period surroundings, several booths

presented Eighteenth Century furniture and accessories with knowledge, style

and panache. Reindeer Antiques of London hung a 1740s Palladian mirror frame,

over five feet wide and containing its original glass, above a Chippendale

mahogany breakfront bookcase with Gothic astragal glazing, circa 1760.

De Montfort of East Sussex dramatically juxtaposed early European sculpture

with oak and country furniture and period needlework. Paul Hopewell had a pair

of oak side chairs dated 1725. The chairs flanked a Charles II side table with

barley-twist supports and original bun feet, circa 1685.

Spring Olympia featured a remarkable range of paintings, watercolors, and

early prints. The Adams Gallery of Bath, Piano Nobile in Richmond, and Martin

Tinney in Wales all offered contemporary British works. Bourne Gallery in

Surrey and Priory Gallery in Cheltenham featured Nineteenth and Twentieth

Century figurative paintings. Bernard Shapero of London was the source for

antique travel prints. Richard Philp, also from London, had Old Master

drawings and early portraits. The only American dealer in the fair, Charles

Plante of Washington, D.C., displayed Neoclassical watercolors and drawings

from 1760-1830.

Some Olympia dealers specialize in decorative objects and treen, others handle

smalls as occasional accessories. Either way, it is possible to see some

unusual and interesting items here that might not turn up elsewhere.

Anthony Foster's selection of early treen included Eighteenth Century snuff

boxes, pipe cases and tampers, and a rare Swiss wooden stirrup priced $3,000.

Also available was a set of panels from the Embriachi workshop in Italy, circa

1421.

Eureka from Cheshire has a wide choice of Mauchlinware, as well as a huge

selection of tartan and papier-mache items. London dealer Robert Barley's

eclectic range usually incudes some surprises. Ethnographica and Asian

antiquities are also to be found at Olympia. Buddhist sculpture and Japanese

screens are a specialty of Shirley Day of Jermyn Street, and Oriental ceramics

are featured by Peter Wain from Shropshire.

Among several ceramics exhibitors, Howard's of Aberystwyth stood out with his

unusual collection of over 50 poodles, some with flowers, bows, and puppies.

All were Staffordshire pottery dating from 1835-60. Prices ranged from $300 to

$3,000.

Britain's strong tradition in silversmithing is reflected in the exceptionally

wide range of antique silver available at Olympia. Sanda Lipton's had early

English spoons and historical medals; Nicholas Shaw sells unusual Scottish and

Irish silver items; and B. Silverman's of London stocks an extensive selection

of cutlery and flatware.

Known for his range of English and Continental silver, Paul Bennet offered a

pair of silver George III wine coolers, with collars and liners, made by

William Frisbee, London, circa 1810, for $80,000.

Marks Antiques of Curzon Street in London showed a George II Rococo epergne,

circa 1753. Crafted by Eliza Godfrey, considered to be the finest silversmith

of her time, this piece was back on the market for the first time in 25 years.

Marks also displayed a Regency tray with a royal coat of arms that belonged to

the Duke of Cumberland. It was $600,000.

Jewelry from all periods was well represented. London dealer Sue Brown of

Grays showed a group of gem-set insects from the turn of the century. Moira

from Bond Street offered signed Art Deco gold pieces and handbags. In addition

to stylish examples by Cartier, Hyman, and David Webb, the Gilded Lily

retailed a 1950s pearl necklace with 18 carats of diamonds, $45,000.

Plique-a-jour was the jewelry de jour. A collection of circa 1900 German

brooches and necklaces embellished by this delicate enamel was on offer at

Didier of London. An exquisite Lalique dragonfly pendant in the same technique

was shown by Epoque Fine Jewels of Belgium. A very different signed Lalique

piece was available from Swiss dealer Aviva Chaya, who displayed a dog collar

necklace, circa 1902-4, with 126 diamonds, and a green enamel plique-a-jour

centerpiece in a Hawthorn design. Hancocks range of fine antique jewelry from

the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries included a Lalique pendant with two

grasshoppers.

The next Olympia Fair, with 400 dealers offering only art and antiques, runs

from June 4-14 and marks the show's 25th anniversary. To commemorate the

event, the organizers are considering, among other ideas, recreating an actual

booth from that first show and printing a special catalogue section with

photographs and stories provided by the dealers who exhibited there.

The orgnizers invite anecdotes from Antiques And The Arts Weekly readers with

memories of the first and subsequent Olympia Fairs. Materials may be directed

to Marion Harris, Woodhaven, Simsbury, Conn., 06070.