Must run 4-6

Story and Photos by Laura beach

SLUG: CHARLESTON INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUES SHOW 2007/WITH CUTS

Story and Photos By Laura Beach

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Founded in 1947 to preserve the architectural, historical and cultural heritage of the wealthiest of the Colonies’ port cities, Historic Charleston Foundation celebrated its 60th anniversary with fanfare.

Its annual Spring Festival of Houses & Gardens took visitors behind the scenes to azalea and camellia-filled private gardens and inside the stately homes that line block after block of this antiquarian’s paradise by the sea.

Between March 15 and April 14, Historic Charleston Foundation hosts dozens of parties, lectures, tours, concerts, plantation excursions, picnics, oyster roasts, and an antiques symposium featuring leading dealers and scholars from around the country. All help pay for the city’s ongoing restoration.

The belle of the ball is the Charleston International Antiques Show, launched four years ago by Historic Charleston Foundation and organized by Keeling Wainwright Associates.

“Charleston is a town of only 100,000 people, but it is rich in every way,” said Josh Wainwright, who manages the fair with his wife, Sandy. “Increasingly, Charleston is a winter retreat for people from the Northeast, Midwest and West who love antiques and historic architecture. It is an ideal place for a show.”

With only 32 exhibitors, the Charleston fair is what Wainwright calls an “upscale boutique” show. Many exhibitors are the only specialists in their categories here. Most enjoy the fair’s charming waterfront setting near the historic Battery, balmy weather, fine hotels and restaurants, and opportunities to visit museums and historic homes in the area. The foundation’s gracious hospitality is also a plus.

“We feel very good about this show,” Josh Wainwright said after wrapping up the event, which opened with a lively preview party on Thursday, March 15, and continued through Sunday, March 18. “Attendance increased considerably this year except for on Saturday, when the town’s huge St Patrick’s Day celebration interfered with traffic. Next year, the show is before St Patrick’s Day so there won’t be a conflict.”

The two-day setup was on the short side, but the show was immaculately groomed by the 6 pm opening. A single-floor, U-shaped plan makes the small presentation seem spacious. For booth walls, exhibitors chose from a selection of Sherwin-Williams’ Historic Charleston line of paints. Last year, buckling paper was an issue. Stacy Exposition Service of West Warren, Mass., fixed the problem this year, creating an attractive matte backdrop for antiques.

Charlestonians have well-formed tastes. Exhibitors respond by bringing material they know will sell in this market: formal American, English and Continental furniture; silver; Chinese porcelain; maps and prints; and fine art, both paintings and works on paper. Not surprisingly, buyers favor Southern antiques. Garden furniture and outdoor statuary also sell well, as does vintage clothing and jewelry.

“Charleston’s a smart town. There are some very good collectors here,” said Sumpter Priddy III. The well-known specialist in Southern furniture made several sales and placed two pieces on approval with regional museums. “For Southerners who are truly interested in the South, Charleston is where it is happening in Dixie. I see people down here who I don’t see in New York, so this is an important venue for me.”

“We’re thrilled to be here with such an illustrious group of dealers,” said Ann Silliman, owner, with her husband, David, of A. Fairfax Antiques. The King Street, Charleston, dealers specialize in Southern furniture. Their many sales included a Virginia sideboard and a cellaret, a Mid-Atlantic server, a pair of gilded neoclassical mirrors, an Eighteenth Century map of Carolina and Bermuda, and a Virginia valuables box.

“Half of our sales were local, the other half were to collectors from Connecticut, Virginia and elsewhere,” said David Silliman.

Rifton, N.Y., silver dealer Jonathan Trace parted with several Charleston rarities, among them a gold reward of merit for a Citadel-educated cadet and a pocket watch in a silver case.

Mark Gaines, a silver specialist from Baltimore, Md., sold a set of New Orleans coin-silver mint julep cups, a South Carolina agricultural society silver cup and a South Carolina sideboard. On hold was a pair of Kentucky tablespoons.

“We love being here,” said Lori Cohen, gallery director for W. Graham Arader III, Philadelphia, which offered important early maps of South Carolina and prints of local birds by Audubon and Jacques Barraband. A standout was William Faden and William Gerard de Brahm’s 1780 map of South Carolina and part of Georgia, $240,000.

“We sold nine pieces last night and a number of things today, so we are pleased,” said John Copenhaver of Fletcher/Copenhaver, Fredericksburg, Va., fine arts dealers who brought several collections by individual artists. Columbia, Mo., dealers Melissa Williams and Douglas Solliday reported similarly strong sales.

“We could have sold our Philadelphia recamiers five times. They’re perfect for Charleston,” said Audrey Rebollo of Christopher T. Rebollo Antiques. The sofas, probably by Quervelle, were $12,000 for the pair. “They are going into a lovely Charleston home with a nice fireplace. They’ll be perfect.” The Mechanicsville, Penn., dealers also sold a Maryland Federal mahogany chest of drawers, a girandole mirror and a Philadelphia Federal campaign desk.

Judd Gregory arrived in Charleston fresh from a show in Alexandria, Va. One of the Vermont dealer’s first sales was a Massachusetts demilune card table. “I’m delivering it back north,” said Gregory. 

Gary Young, a Maryland specialist in English furniture, got off to a brisk start, selling a Regency penwork table, a pair of Marlborough chairs, a pair of shellwork sconces and a pair of long walnut carvings. A handsome bureau bookcase that Young first offered in January at the Washington, D.C., show recently sold at Winnetka.

New to the show, Chinese art dealers Edie and Joel Frankel of Manhattan said that, as expected, they sold blue and white wares, especially export. They were pleased enough with their first outing to come back next year.

According to Wainwright, others who did well included Mary Helen McCoy, an Alabama dealer in French furniture who sold to collectors from Texas, California, Illinois and Washington state; Maine dealer William Schwind; and Jerry Hayes, a majolica dealer from Oklahoma. Stella Rubin, who deals in quilts and jewelry, and Katy Kane, the vintage couture specialist, also reported robust sales.

“We’re all very positive about the future of this show,” said Josh and Sandy Wainwright, who look forward to being back in Charleston in March 2008.

For information, 843-723-1623 or www.historiccharleston.org.

A Belle Of A Southern Show Draws

Buyers From Around The Country

Charleston International Antiques Show

Historic Charleston Foundation Marks 60th Anniversary

By Laura Beach

Web

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Fortunately for Rifton, N.Y., dealer Jonathan Trace, Charlestonians love American silver. Trace sold this 1859 gold reward of merit for Citadel graduate Cadet Boyleston on opening night. It is engraved with an image of Charleston’s famous military college and is accompanied by a silver crescent pin. The crescent, or “New Moon,” appears on the South Carolina flag. The symbol dates to the Revolutionary era, when South Carolina soldiers wore crescents on their caps.

 

 

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“We had one of our best show’s ever here last year,” said classical furniture specialist Carswell Rush Berlin. The New York dealer sets up at the Charleston Show and at the nearby Charleston Renaissance Gallery, a premier source for historic Southern painting. Berlin’s offerings included a Federal figured-maple child’s chair attributed to Joseph B. Barry & Son of Philadelphia, far right, and a Grecian couch attributed to Duncan Phyfe.

 

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As the hometown specialist in Southern furniture, A. Fairfax Antiques of Charleston always sells well here. Center is a Charleston sideboard, possibly by James Main. A similar sideboard is illustrated in The Furniture of Charleston by Bivens and Rauschenberg.

 

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Judd Gregory Fine Antiques, Dorset, Vt., arrived in Charleston fresh from the Alexandria, Va., antiques show and quickly sold a Massachusetts demilune card table.

 

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Sumpter Priddy III with the “Iron Steamer Carrie of Savannah,” a design in watercolor, pen and ink on paper by Henry William Frackmann of Wilmington, Del. The Alexandria, Va., dealer brought several pieces of Charleston furniture, including a circa 1795 Pembroke table and a dressing table, probably by William Axson, circa 1760–1765.

 

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Litchfield, Conn., dealer Jeffrey Tillou greets customers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Vermont dealer Judd Gregory puts wife Peg’s mechanical abilities to the test.

 

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“We could have sold our Philadelphia recamiers five times. They’re perfect for Charleston,” said Audrey Rebollo of Christopher T. Rebollo Antiques. Moderately priced formal furniture is a best-seller here. These sofas, probably by Quervelle, were $12,000 for the pair.

 

 

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Far left, the New York rosewood marble-top pier table attributed to the workshop of Duncan Phyfe, circa 1815–1820, was a highlight at George Subkoff Antiques, Westport, Conn.

 

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Charleston has not suffered a major hurricane since Hugo hit in 1989. With a booth full of antique barometers, Charles Edwin Inc, Louisa, Va., was not taking any chances on the weather.

 

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Above right, a Princess Feather quilt with eagle corner blocks, circa 1860, at Stella Rubin, Darnestown, Md.

 

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McColl Fine Art’s large gallery in Charlotte, N.C., is known for Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century American and European painting. Dealer Mark Methner featured “Samovar,” a National Academy of Design exhibition painting by Dines Carlsen (1901–1966), son of Emil Carlson.

 

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Dublin, N.H., and San Francisco dealer Peter Pap’s centerpiece was this circa 1900 room-sized Tabriz.

 

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Carlson & Stevenson Antiques of Manchester Center, Vt., offered this Flying Geese quilt. The circa 1840 textile is pieced from beautiful early chintzes.

 

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“Charleston is a great show for us. Buyers want formal style,” said Brad Kyser and Charles Hollingsworth. The Washington, D.C., dealers featured an inlaid five-legged New York card table and a pair of French giltwood ballroom chairs.

 

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King-Thomasson Antiques, Asheville, N.C.

 

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Centreville, Md., dealer Gary E. Young was off to a great start, having sold several pieces of English furniture.

 

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Balenciaga haute couture dress and jacket, circa 1960. Katy Kane, Inc, New Hope, Penn.

 

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Jerry S. Hayes, Oklahoma City, Okla.

 

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W.M. Schwind, Jr, Yarmouth, Maine

 

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Julia Santen Gallery, Charleston, S.C.

 

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Finnegan Gallery, Chicago

 

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W. Graham Arader III offered important maps of South Carolina along with prints of local birds, including shore birds by Audubon and the now-extinct Carolina parrot by Jacques Barraband. A standout was William Faden and William Gerard de Brahm’s 1780 map of South Carolina and part of Georgia, $240,000.

 

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With the weather balmy, dealers were happy to be in Charleston, especially when snow hit the Northeast. The show’s lovely setting is on the waterfront adjacent to the Battery with its spectacular historic homes.

 

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Commemorating 40 years in business with an elaborate hardcover catalog and special exhibition, Chinese art specialists Edie and Joel Frankel were new to the Charleston show.

 

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John Suval of Fredericksburg, Va., featured a 1730 famille rose jug.

 

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Joel Fletcher and John Copenhaver of Fletcher/Copenhaver Fine Art, Fredericksburg, Va., did well with works by Charleston artist Margaret May Dashiel and Zoum Walter, an artist associated with the Bloomsbury group.

 

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Hirschl & Adler Galleries of New York City featured a pair of card tables with eagle mounts, probably by Thomas Seymour with carving by Thomas Wightman; a Boston sofa from a design by Thomas King; and a selection of Southern birds by Audubon.

 

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Ann and David Silliman, Charleston specialists in Southern furniture.

 

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Columbia, Mo., dealers Douglas L. Solliday and Melissa Williams paired Dawson Dawson-Watson’s 12-by-16-inch “Marble Canyon,” an oil on canvas Grand Canyon view of circa 1920, with “The Canyon,” a 3-by-4-inch oil on paperboard painting of the same subject. Dawson-Watson, a Missouri artist who painted in Giverny, is also known for his Western scenes.

 

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Mark M. Gaines, Baltimore, Md., does well with silver from the South and the Mid-Atlantic. His Low Country South Carolina sideboard, $9,500, came from Sally Abney Rose (1915–2005), a prominent early collector of Southern furniture.