by Nancy Gibson

Even though Hurricane Earl had just that morning made its way up the mid-Atlantic coast, the weather couldn’t have been more beautiful in Baltimore for the Summer Antiques Show. The skies were Tiffany blue and a slight breeze blew across the Inner Harbor to the Convention Center where 500 antiques dealers and 70 book dealers were exhibiting and selling their wares in what some call the largest indoor antique show in the country.

It was fitting that on this picturesque day, the talk of the show was a pastel impressionist painting by Claude Monet. Inondation a Giverny, signed Claude Monet 96 was being offered for sale by M.S. Rau Antiques for $5,850,000.00. The title translates as “Flood at Giverny” and shows off Monet’s genius at perspective and the movement and play of color and light. According to M.S. Rau staff, the last time the painting was exhibited was in 1959. It comes from a private collector in Switzerland. Given the prices of impressionists’ works in the past several years, this painting is a steal.

M.S. Rau Antiques also offered a painting by Thomas Gainsborough [1727-1788]. Painted in 1766, A Portrait of Francis Bennett comes to the market from a private collection in Amsterdam and will be included in the catalogue raisonné being prepared by Dr. Hugh Belsey, a Gainsborough scholar. Francis Bennett [1712-1790] was a successful businessman in the fashionable spa town, Bath, England. This work was the second of two paintings Gainsborough made of Bennett, the first painted 4 years prior. Gainsborough worked in Bath for several years and this painting was made during the middle years of his Bath sojourn, as evidenced by the “delicate, but free handling of paint” during this period, according to the dealer.

Sales made by M.S. Rau Antiques include a piece of Paul Revere silver, three paintings, an 8.9 carat emerald cut diamond ring, a 19th century French surgeons kit, several Russian pieces and a giant carriage clock. “Best crowds ever,” said Bill Rau of M.S. Rau Antiques.

Larry and Bella Dalton of Larry Dalton Antique timepieces, Scarsdale, New York exhibited some of the most beautiful objects in the show. Specializing in antique clocks, they offered a large number of unusual ball clocks, carriage clocks, and desk clocks. All shapes and sizes were available at very good prices. Their ball clocks were especially interesting. The selection was vast and these paperweight-like clocks encased in glass spheres were exceptional examples of type.

Crones Collectibles of New Hampshire exhibited a nice group of quality arts and crafts pottery and textiles, but the item of real interest in their booth was the burntwood side chair. This small oak chair is an excellent example of arts and crafts burntwood furniture. Priced under a $1000 meant it was affordable for even the most frugal recession-weary collector.

For fashionistas there was Domont Jewelry and Accessories from West Hollywood, California offering an amazing selection of costume and fine jewelry made between 1970 and 2000. Maria Domont sells her pricey, yet truly fabulous jewelry at high-end shows and her booth is always packed. She did not disappoint. Her selection of Iradj Moini necklaces and bracelets were outstanding and would look perfect on the most fashionable movie star walking the red carpet.

Denbac dragonfly jardiniere

VandM.com dealer, Lisa Gaffney of Terra Marie Antiques, sold several important pieces of Art Nouveau pottery noting, “This was my second year doing Baltimore and it’s a beautiful show with sophisticated customers. I had a number of repeat customers from last year and added at least one serious new collector of Art Nouveau.”

Another VandM.com dealer, Susan Tillipman of TOJ Gallery, made a significant sale on the last day of the show. A collector of Chinese pottery fell in love with a studio vessel done by Donna Craven. It is 22″ H with an approximate circumference of 70″ and according to the dealer “It is a stunning example of the large scale work being done by the diminutive Craven. The piece is coiled, hand excised with applied decoration and strap handles and then wood fired and salt glazed.”

Tillipman also notes, “The show is always beautiful. There is something for everyone there. It draws a huge crowd from all over the world. What I appreciate most are the local Baltimore/ Washington attendees. They are usually knowledgeable and well traveled. I look forward to seeing them each year and they look forward to seeing what I have brought to add to their collections.”
According to the Palm Beach Show Group, promoters of the show, this year saw an increase in the number of attendees. Martin Chasin of Martin Chasin Fine Arts also commented, “There was a really wonderful mix of dealers at the show and the best clients that I’ve ever had came through this year.”

Not only was retail business booming at the 30th Annual Show, but trade business was thriving as well. Jim Alterman of Jim’s of Lambertville purchased an entire booth of important sculpture, including two Auguste Rodin pieces, an Emile Gauguin sculpture, and an extremely rare Leo Laporte-Blairsy Art Nouveau lamp that was first exhibited at the 1901 Societe des Artistes Francais.

Other significant sales were reported throughout the show’s four-day run, September 2-5, including an extremely rare ancient Chinese gold vessel with turquoise and garnet inlay from around the 3rd century AD sold by TK Asian Antiquities. The vessel is from the Royal workshop and had an asking price of $1.3 million.

The 31st Annual Baltimore Summer Antiques Show will return to the Baltimore Convention Center August 25-28, 2011.