Dutch auction sure to excite attention

Des O’Sullivan looks forward to a sale spanning 7,000 years of history.

WITH more than 7,000 years of art history under one roof, Maastricht in the Netherlands is the centre of the universe for global collectors of art, antiques, antiquities and collectibles this week.

TEFAF, the European Fine Art Fair, gets underway proper today and will run until March 22. Billed as the world’s leading art fair it is renowned for its commitment to excellence, reflected in the range and quality of what is available.

An innovation this year is Night Fishing, an exhibition of post modern and contemporary sculpture curated by Sydney Picasso and Hidde van Seggelen which will include artists such as Georg Baselitz, Tony Cragg and Richard Deacon.

The Weiss Gallery, London presents a remarkable collection of nine works by Frans Pourbus the tougher (1569-1622).

Les Enlumineurs, Paris, will bring a prayer book by Albrecht Durer, Heinrich Aldegrever, Johan Wierix and others which contains 14 engravers by Durer, executed between 1507 and 1512.

More than 270 of the worlds finest dealers have brought their finest and rarest pieces to Maastricht for a fair which brings the wealthiest collectors and major museum curators to Maastricht every year.