The virtual new world now reaches antique fairs

Poseidon, a necklace in gold, platinum and diamonds by Georges Braque (1882-1963) will be displayed by Didier Ltd., Jewellery at the inaugural vrtua TEFAF Fair.

The world of auctions, local, national and international, has moved fairly seamlessly to an online model. Art and antique fairs have a more particular problem, but as the pandemic progresses and large gatherings remain an impossibility new forms are emerging.

With fabulous fairs in New York and Maastricht The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF), the daddy of them all, is not something us average punters get to visit every time. The good news is that the digital model is available in our own homes.

Asian art specialists Sydney L. Moss will offer a digital window into their gallery with Gokei Monju, a rare Japanese temple sculpture of the bodhisattva of transcendent wisdom, at TEFAF Online 2020. 

The inaugural digital New York Fair runs from November 1-4 with a private preview day today. Each one of the almost 300 participating exhibitors from across the global community has been challenged to present a single masterpiece in their collection. The result is a selection of artworks in the top segment of the market in one place which offers all of us a chance to look and learn.

Did you know, for instance, that in the last two years of his life, the artist Georges Braque, became fascinated with the idea of designing jewellery? It gave him a chance to continue with art while experiencing ill health. 

Jewellers Didier Ltd. will highlight a Poseidon necklace designed by Braque in 1962-62. An Ancient Egyptian head of Min, God of fertility and harvest, is at Axel Vervoordt. Among the other rarities to be found is Gokei Monju, a Japanese temple sculpture of the bodhisattva of transcendent wisdom at Asian art specialists Sydney L. Moss.

This monumental head of Min, the Egyptian god of fertility and harvest, will be displayed at the virtual TEFAF New York far by Axel Vervoordt Ancient Art.

Guests who are moved to purchase will be afforded the option of interaction with exhibitors. It is possible to pre-register online at www.tefaf.com.

More locally Hibernian Antique Fairs have a virtual Christmas gift fair running on November 7 and 8. Their model offers buyers the opportunity to browse and purchase an array of everything from Irish art and antique furniture to jewellery, glass, silver, coins, banknotes and collectibles of every sort.

Their first virtual fair in September was fairly experimental but the second one with more than 700 items on offer attracted what organiser Robin O'Donnell described as a "monsoon" of nearly 40,000 hits. The event next weekend will be even bigger. Everyone involved in the digital world of buying and selling antiques accepts that there is no substitute for virtual, face to fact interaction but for now this is the only way forward.

Oil lamp and candlesticks at the virtual Christmas fair by Hibernian Antique Fairs on November 7-8.

Spectacular results were achieved at Morgan O'Driscoll's Irish and International art sale last Tuesday evening. The online auction grossed €2 million. Andy Warhol's portraits of Mohammed Ali made €210,000 to an Irish buyer. Among the other hammer prices were Dan O'Neill's Summer (€125,000); Bridget Riley R2114 (€100,000); Sean Scully, 9.2.89 (€85,000); Jack Butler Yeats, A Hooker and a Nobbie (€70,000): Banksy, Morons (Sepia) (€68,000); Louis le Brocquy, Orange (€29,000); Andy Warhol, The Nun from Ingrid Bergman (€28,000) and Harry Kernoff, The Twelve Pins, Renvyle, Connemara (€25,000). There were bidders from Ireland, the UK, the US and Germany.

There will be an online auction of antiques and collectibles at Woodwards, Cork next Saturday (November 7).