Sparkling Opportunities at Westonbirt Summer Antiques Fair Sparkling Opportunities at Westonbirt Summer Antiques Fair
19/05/2008
Fabulous displays of sparkling jewellery will feature among a wide range of antiques, works of art and collector's items going on sale at The Westonbirt School Antiques & Fine Art Fair at Westonbirt, near Tetbury, Gloucestershire from 8th - 10th August 2008.
This popular summer event features more than fifty specialist dealers and is a favourite attraction for collectors across the Cotswolds and the Southwest.
With exhibits on sale from less than £25 to more than £25,000, the fair offers a wonderful opportunity to buy anything from fine period furniture and original works of art to early clocks, barometers, period lighting, needleworks, Art Nouveau and Art Deco ceramics and bronzes, 18th and 19th century pottery and porcelain, Chinese and Oriental works of art and collectables, antiquarian maps and prints and a wide range of 19th and 20th century jewellery.
The fair is organized by Sue Ede of Cooper Events from Somerset. Says Sue: 'With five specialists, jewellery is a major part of our antiques fair. Anyone looking for something unique and memorable will find that our dealers offer a wide choice of pieces, from nineteenth century traditional pieces to mid-20th century glamour items designed in Hollywood."
Among the many eye-catching stands will be Scarab Antiques from London, showing a superb range of 20th century costume jewellery, Russian enamels and silver pieces. Costume jewellery is currently very popular with both collectors and anyone looking for unusual and memorable accessories that make a personal statement. Scarab Antiques sell pieces by such collectable names as Christian Dior, Nina Ricci, Miriam Haskell and Jakob Bengel. Among their many highlights will be a superb Art Deco galalith necklace in the Bauhaus style by Jakob Bengel, (illustrated) priced at £650. Galalith is a form of plastic, sometimes known as milkstone because it is made from combining the milk protein casein with formaldehyde. They will also be showing a rare Russian jewelled and enameled box by Ivan Saltykov, a Moscow maker working in the golden age of Russian enamels, circa 1895, priced at £15,500.
Traditional style jewellery and objects of virtue will be on sale from Trivette, Hampshire based dealers specializing in Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian and 20th century pieces, including a wide range of stunning necklaces, rings, brooches, earrings, watches, bangles and chains. Also specializing in period jewellery will be Terry Robert from Norfolk, Plaza from Wales and Barrington of Somerset.
The Westonbirt School Antiques & Fine Art Fair offers much more, including 18th and 19th century furniture from Yoxall Antiques from Solihull, Sue Killinger Antiques from Great Missenden, Melody Antiques from Chester and Mulberry House Antiques and Francis Antiques from Sussex, Oriental ceramics and collectables from Ben Cooper Antiques from Worcestershire, Fu Ts'ang Lung Oriental Antiques from South Yorkshire and Amelie & Mel Caswell from Bristol.
Pottery and porcelain collectors will find a wide range of pieces, from superb early English pottery from Roger de Ville of Staffordshire to decorative Meissen and Dresden pieces from John Newton Antiques from East Yorkshire. Other exhibitors include The Dunkery Gallery from Exmoor with original paintings, Hazlehurst Sculpture and Antiques from Kent, specializing in French bronzes, and Candice Horley from Surrey with a range of Art Nouveau and Art Deco porcelain and decorative pieces.
Founded in 1928, Westonbirt School, with its sumptuous interiors, is the ideal location for a prestige antiques fair. The school is a former manor house that belonged to the Holford family, and is the third manor on the site. It is situated just a few minutes from the famous Arboretum and just south of Tetbury.
The Holford family first acquired an Elizabethan house at Westonbirt in 1665 Later generations replaced this with a Georgian house and then with the grand Italian Renaissance style mansion that became the present school. Built by a Holford, who was then one of the richest men in England, he employed the greatest experts and craftsmen of the day. He also bought in the finest materials - Italian marble for fireplaces and columns, silk brocade and Cordova leather for wall hangings, ornate painted plaster for the ceilings, and superb carved oak and walnut for doors and wainscoting.
The Westonbirt School Antiques & Fine Art Fair
Westonbirt, near Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL6 8QG
8th - 10th August 2008.