BY VICTORIA ROMEO
The Winter Antiques Show, going on now through January 31 at the Park Avenue Armory, has a wide variety of treasures worth checking out. The annual event serves as both art fair and charity benefit, with some of the proceeds going to the South Bronx not-for-profit organization, the East Side House Settlement.
Inside the historic Armory building, prospective buyers and browsers alike wander through the cavernous space filled with over one hundred individual gallery booths. Dealers are not grouped by specialty, leaving you free to float from early American furniture to Dutch porcelain and then over to Art-Deco jewelry. The variety at this show is a definite strength, and a unique experience for those accustomed to viewing art in more thematically organized settings. With (almost) everything on view for sale, visitors can get a sense of the market value for objects they may want to purchase, if only hypothetically. Prices at this high-end show are certainly prohibitory, but thankfully looking is free (after $20 admission, of course).
American paintings and furniture make up the largest percentage of exhibitors, with nearly as many European offerings in these categories. More interesting are the unusual specialty galleries, such as Aronson of Amsterdam, specializing in seventeenth and eighteenth-century examples of Delft porcelain. In addition to the more familiar tiles and serving ware, the pair of blue and white four-tier pyramidal flower vases (c. 1695-1705) on display attracted much attention. These curious looking objects make more sense after a look at the photo of them in use, holding flowers. Associations with the Dutch and their tulips immediately jump to mind and instantly, these vases seem the perfect signifiers of Dutch culture, and great conversation pieces.
Les Eluminures, a French gallery specializing in illuminated manuscripts, books of hours and other medieval works of art, also had some rare treasures. It seems almost surreal that it is possible to purchase an illuminated book of hours or a single sheet (called a miniature) once a part of a manuscript, but these works really are for sale. Their substantial age and delicate nature (many are painted on parchment), not to mention beautiful illuminations, give these works value unmatched by their retail prices.
Just to the left of the shimmering manuscripts, London arms and armor dealer Peter Finer showcases his wares in a small booth that looks as though it could have been lifted directly out of the arms and armor wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The swords, helmets and assorted antique weaponry, including a 16th-century suit of German armor for $750,000, available here further demonstrate that for the serious collector, the possibilities are endless and objects, however surprising, are available.
With objects dating from ancient Egyptian civilization through to the Twentieth-century, the Winter Antiques show is sure to have something for everyone. Meandering the booths takes visitors on a fabulous, if random tour through the various styles and aesthetics of our collective history. This show also gives us a chance to see objects that may not be exhibited again publicly for a long time, unless of course, you’re lucky enough to take one home.
The Park Avenue Armory is located at Park Ave. and E. 67th Street. The Winter Antiques Show is open daily 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm; Sunday & Thursday 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm. For more information, visit http://www.winterantiquesshow.com
