Antiques and Fine Art: All the fun of the winter fair

Des O'Sullivan checks out the lineup of enduringly popular winter antique and art fairs in Ireland, London and New York

Top, left, 'Book of Hours', The Winter Show in New York; top centre, Cork Distilleries sign at the National Antiques Fair at Limerick Racecourse; below left, red lacquered sideboard by Jules at the New York Winter Show; right, 18th-century rococo cabinet from Sweden will be at London's Decorative Fair.

From lacquered sideboards to medieval books of hours and a Swedish rococo cabinet to a prized Cork Distilleries sign, antiques fairs are of enormous interest whether the audience is global or local. It doesn't make a whole lot of difference. The popularity of fairs at all levels of the collecting world is undiminished. This is where discoveries are made, inspiration flourishes and new deals are struck.

Upcoming fairs in New York, London and Limerick this month offer an array of breathtaking objects to stimulate the imagination of any collector.