The overall insured value of what was shown at last year's fair was $1 billion. Because of Maastricht's quality, standards and size, its total sales are considered an important indicator for the global art market. Like TEFAF's contents, prices of individual pieces range widely. In recent years New York dealer Otto Naumann showed Rembrandt's Minerva in Her Study for $40 million, and Salander-O'Reilly Galleries wanted $15 million for a magnificent Bernini terra-cotta modello (for a figure of the Fountain of the Moor, in Rome's Piazza Navona) that is now at the Kimbell Art Museum, in Fort Worth, Texas.
At the other end, the asking price for an elegant 1950 George Nakashima walnut bench displayed by Philippe Denys, a Brussels dealer that specializes in 20th-century silver and furniture, was $57,000; and along with illuminated manuscripts, Paris's Les Enluminures has a case stocked with superb medieval and Renaissance rings, some costing less than $10,000. The small terra-cottas and Roman glass that Charles Ede, a dealer that specializes in classical and preclassical antiquities, usually brings can be had for even less, demonstrating what an accessible field this remains.
With treasures and temptations at every turn, Maastricht must be planned before you start. To make sure the experience doesn't go by in a blur, expect to spend two days at the fair. You can get a map of Maastricht's gridlike layout at the entrance. The offerings are divided into sections, such as "Antiques & Works of Art," "Modern Art" and "Paintings, Drawings & Prints." Dealers' stands—some decorated with chandeliers, silk damask wall coverings, vivid floral arrangements and other such lavish touches—line both sides of the broad "avenues" and the narrower "streets."
To aid in navigation, the aisles have been given such easy-to-remember names as Champs-élysées and Trafalgar Square. (The maps are indexed by section and dealer name.) Some fairgoers systematically go up and down each aisle; others stick to the field they collect in and look at little else. Four years of visiting Maastricht have not altered my approach: I try to see everything, but I always start with my musts.
Antiques & Works of Art
Angela Gräfin von Wallwitz, an expert in European ceramics, porcelain and objets d'art who hails from Munich, exemplifies what makes Maastricht outstanding. Von Wallwitz's taste and stock are first-rate, and she is generous with her time and expertise. This year she will display a superb 18th-century mahogany traveling case fitted with compartments for items including shaving gear, writing tools and a Meissen painted porcelain tea-and-coffee service.
J. Kugel, a fifth-generation dealer that began in Russia and the cat's whiskers in princely luxury, occupies a large corner stand at TEFAF, the only fair the Paris firm participates in. The stand bursts with gilt mirrors, 18th-century ormolu-mounted furniture, tinkling chandeliers and fabulous Renaissance jewels.
Lin + Emile Deletaille specializes in ethnographic art from 1500 B.C. to the early 20th century. Last year the Brussels duo's fanciful 2,000-year-old Peruvian mummy hats were snapped up immediately.
Vanderven & Vanderven Oriental Art dramatically showcases its often rare and always fine items. In recent years the offerings of this Dutch specialist in Chinese ceramics and Chinese export porcelain have included beau- ties from the famed Ionides collection, among them a pair of delicate round-bottomed Kangxi (1662–1722) marriage cups.
Modern Art
Barbara Mathes Gallery, from New York, will display the large drawing Etude Pour "Jeune Fille en Vert dans l'Interieur Rouge," done by Matisse in 1947. The artist wrote that this and other studies of his were not sketches but rather "the purest and most direct translation of my emotions."
Galerie Odermatt-Vedovi, of Paris, exhibits sculptures by Germaine Richier (1904–1959), which are underappreciated compared to those of Giacometti, a fellow pupil of Antoine Bourdelle, and therefore more affordably priced.
Timothy Taylor Gallery will feature brilliantly colored, enchanting oils by Craigie Aitchison. Little known in the United States, Aitchison is a cult figure in Britain.
