TEFAF exhibition Maastricht
Visitors to the Fair will see one of the last jewels created by Salvador Dali, a pair of porcelain leopards almost certainly made for a Chinese emperor, the only suit of late 15th-century German jousting armour still in private hands and an entire room devoted to the painter Joan Miró. The Miró exhibition is being mounted by Landau Fine Art of Montreal and includes paintings, drawings and sculptures.
Dali, Miro
An extraordinary example of how one of the greatest names in 20th-century art and a superbly skilled jeweller combined to produce a work of exquisite beauty is displayed on the stand of New York dealer Michele Beiny. Pandora’s Box, designed and created by Salvador Dali and executed by Carlos Alemany, is a gold box veneered with lapis lazuli and studded with diamonds. Dali’s signature is in diamond-encrusted platinum. This stunning piece was commissioned by Hanns Weinberg in 1971, making it one of the last jewels created by Dali, and until now it has always been in the Weinberg family’s collection.
Asian art has become one of TEFAF’s many strengths and amongst the masterpieces at this year’s Fair are two being shown by British exhibitors. Cohen & Cohen of Reigate has a highly important pair of Chinese leopards dating from the reign of the Kangxi Emperor c1720. These magnificent 99cm long enameled porcelain figures, with an asking price of £3.5 million, are believed to have been made for the Emperor himself. Littleton & Hennessy Asian Art, from London, are showing a rare and highly lacquered bronze figure of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara dating from the early Yuan Dynasty in China c1300. Priced in the region of $8 million, this 147cm high bronze, probably made in the Yunnan area, is among the most powerful of the few surviving Buddhist images from this period.
The Old Master Paintings dealers for which TEFAF has always been renowned are exhibiting three works by the great Dutch painter Frans Hals. Another important Old Master at this year’s TEFAF is Mankind’s Eternal Dilemma – the Choice between Vice and Virtue which can justifiably be called Frans Francken the Younger’s greatest masterpiece, possibly commissioned by the City of Antwerp, sold in the region of $14 million by Johnny van Haeften of London.
TEFAF 2011 has 260 exhibitors from 16 countries in nine sections. Some 30,000 works of art from the Neolithic Age to the present day are all rigorously vetted by 168 international experts in 29 specialist committees to ensure quality, authenticity and good condition.
TEFAF Maastricht is launching the TEFAF Mobile Guide, an application for Android and iPhone, at the 2011 Fair. The application has been developed to help visitors get the most out of their visit to TEFAF. It offers them a virtual tour, videos, an interactive floor plan, an overview of the Fair’s sections, exhibitors and restaurants at the Fair and other information. It can be downloaded for free at www.tefaf.com/mobile and from the iTunes AppStore and Android Market.
