The International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show is the Luxist Awards' Readers' Choice winner for the best antiques resource category.

Since 1989, The International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show has been recognized the world over as a premier showcase for exceptional quality works of art from antiquity to the present day. The show features some of the world's top dealers and consistently attracts large crowds.

A superb variety of high-quality items are for sale at the fair, including furniture, paintings, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, glass, clocks, watches, arms, armour, rare books, manuscripts, jewelry, objets de vertu, Fabergé, silver, antiquities and ethnographic art. Many of the pieces are of museum quality. Prices start from as little as a few hundred dollars but rise into the millions.

All works are for sale under the strictest vetting conditions. In fact, at its launch the International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show was the first fair in the United States to introduce vetting; a stringent set of guidelines designed to maintain the highest standards of quality and authenticity in the works of art on view and for sale. The great value of vetting at art and antiques fairs lies in the safeguards and reassurance it offers to buyers. The vetting committees for the International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show combine both academic and commercial expertise in their membership, including museum personnel as well as other eminent specialists.

The show is organized each year by Haughton International Fairs. In 2009, it was held from October 16th until the 22nd with 65 exhibitors from around the world. The fair was held at the Park Avenue Armory, which is located on Park Avenue at 67th Street in New York City.

Academics are desperate to get their hands on a collection of letters that once belonged to author Franz Kafka, the genius behind "The Metamorphosis" and "The Trial." But, their efforts have been stymied by Have Hoffe and her sister, Ruth Wisler. The two ladies received the documents from their mother two years ago (when she died at the age of 101). Previously, the materials belonged to Max Brod, a German author who wrote a biography of Kafka. Brod died in 1968 and left the letters to Hoffe's and Wisler's mother, Esther.

The battle over the literary booty is on its way to Tel Aviv Family Court. The letters currently sit in two bank vaults, though scholars are worried that they aren't being stored properly. They see in the letters a potential treasure map: they may indicate the location of some notebooks confiscated from Kafka by the Gestapo. The issue became a legal matter when the sisters sought to ratify their mother's will, at which point the Israeli government became involved. Esther Hoffe only allowed a handful of researchers to view the letters and didn't make them available to the public -- a sore spot for interested scholars.

Had Kafka's wishes been respected, there would be no problem right now. The letters would have been burned.

Nominations have been received and vetted for the best-of-breed in lighting, furniture, antiques resource, dishware and glassware. The Luxist Readers' Choice Decor Awards will be awarded based on your voting.

Each of finalists for the Readers' Choice for the Best in Lighting is a leader in the industry. One is credited with founding modern interior lighting designs, while another creates sculptural masterpieces. A third produces lighting that radiates beauty from every angle while the crystal chandeliers of another have been sought out by royalty. Last, but not least, there's one which melds exquisitely cut crystal with its masterful designs.

The Readers' Choice for the Best in Furniture nominees offer a range of original artistry from simple and pure to the exotic; from traditional to the ultra-modern. Their creations are collected by connoisseurs and museums alike.

The Readers' Choice for the Best in Glassware for a Luxist Award include award-winning brands from France, Sweden and the United States. Each represents the finest of quality and artistry while offering the most exquisite of designs.

Nominees for Readers' Choice for Best in Dishware include companies that have been producing china for centuries. Two have roots in the Limoges region of France, the cradle of the French porcelain industry. One nominee is quintessentially English while two produce American classics. Dishware created by each of these nominees are owned by the who's who of world leaders from the King of Saudi Arabia and the Queen of England to the President of the United States.

Readers' Choice nominees for Best Antiques Resource include the most prestigious art and antiques fairs in the world. These fairs, which are international in scope, are annual destinations for serious connoisseurs, collectors and museum curators who are in search of the best. Each of these fairs have rigorous vetting processes in which the quality, condition and authenticity of each piece is carefully investigated.

Vote now for what you believe is the best of breed for each of these categories. Readers' Choice Awards for Decor will be announced on October 31st.

The Winter Fine Art and Antiques Fair, Olympia is a nominee for the Luxist Awards in the best antiques resource category.
First launched in 1991, the Winter Fine Art and Antiques Fair has been heralded as the epitome of fine art and antiques events in the UK and has become an annual mark on many a social calendar for those of high esteem and exquisite taste. Past years have seen visitors such as Bono, Claudia Schiffer, and Victoria Rothschild. The fair takes place in the impressive Olympia exhibition hall which was built in 1892 and boasts a grand atmosphere and 3 halls featuring elegant and airy spaces and dome-like ceilings, along with plenty of natural light.

Items are offered up at the fair by over 150 exhibitors and come from all over the world, including wall art, textiles, chandeliers and lighting, floor coverings, and musical instruments to name just a few of the categories. The fair is supported by two of the most prestigious trade associations (BADA and LAPADA) and all items go through a rigorous vetting process run by a team of 150 experts divided into 33 committees. Shoppers can buy with confidence.

The Winter Fine Art and Antiques Fair, Olympia runs from November 19-22, 2009 and if you can't make it next month (or can make it but can't wait to see more) be sure to mark your calendar also for the Summer Fine Art and Antiques Fair to be held in summer 2010 from June 4-13.

The International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show is a nominee in the Luxist Awards' best antiques resource category.

Since 1989, The International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show has been recognized the world over as a premier showcase for exceptional quality works of art from antiquity to the present day. The show features some of the world's top dealers and consistently attracts large crowds.

A superb variety of high-quality items are for sale at the fair, including furniture, paintings, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, glass, clocks, watches, arms, armour, rare books, manuscripts, jewelry, objets de vertu, Fabergé, silver, antiquities and ethnographic art. Many of the pieces are of museum quality. Prices start from as little as a few hundred dollars but rise into the millions.

All works are for sale under the strictest vetting conditions. In fact, at its launch the International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show was the first fair in the United States to introduce vetting; a stringent set of guidelines designed to maintain the highest standards of quality and authenticity in the works of art on view and for sale. The great value of vetting at art and antiques fairs lies in the safeguards and reassurance it offers to buyers. The vetting committees for the International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show combine both academic and commercial expertise in their membership, including museum personnel as well as other eminent specialists.

In 2009, the show, which is organized each year by Haughton International Fairs, will be held from October 16th until the 22nd with 65 exhibitors from around the world, each showcasing some of their best pieces. The fair will be held at the Park Avenue Armory, which is located on Park Avenue at 67th Street in New York City.

The Maastricht Fair, also called the TEFAF (which stands for The European Fine Art Fair), has been nominated for a Luxist Award for the best antiques resource category.

Commonly called "Maastricht", the fair, which is held in Maastricht, The Netherlands, this is where some of the most distinguished dealers, academics, art critics and collectors in the world gather once a year.

Maastricht was once two separate international fairs until they were merged to form the The European Fine Art Fair. Here, visitors will have the opportunity to view and buy genuine masterpieces from Bruegel to Bacon in addition to some of the world's finest antiques and antiquities.

Perhaps no where else will you find such rigorous investigation of their quality, condition and authenticity. Indeed, there are no fewer than 25 different vetting committees, consisting of 150 international experts, specialized in the fields that are presented at the fair. Each object is examined for its quality, authenticity and condition. Works of art that don't meet the high standards of the The European Fine Art Fair are removed from the stands and locked away until after the fair. In addition, the Art Loss Register, the world's largest database of stolen art, checks the objects against their lists of reported art theft, thus enabling collectors to acquire works of art at the Fair with the highest level of confidence.

The rough estimate for the total value of the objects presented at Maastricht exceeds $1 billion, which doesn't even include the magnificent contemporary jewelry section. All works of art shown by exhibitors at the fair are for sale (apart from stand furniture). The fair is 30,500 square meters, which is roughly the size of six football (or soccer) fields. Typically, there are 240 art and antiques dealers from 15 countries who exhibit at the fair; approximately 82% of the participants are non-Dutch.

The American International Fine Art Fair in Palm Beach, Fl. is a Luxist Awards' nominee for Best Antiques Resource.

Celebrating its 14th year, the AIFAF features international dealers representing disciplines of fine art from classical antiquity to contemporary, in addition to some of the finest haute and period jewelry in the world. Considered to be the premier art, antique and jewelry fair in the United States, the fair is fully vetted by leading museum curators and experts.

Prestigious exhibitors from more than ten countries offer an extraordinary array of exceptional works of art, antiques and jewelry in America's most glamorous winter destination. This fair has become an annual destination for serious connoisseurs, collectors, and museum curators. It is an event of exceptional quality.

The fair has strict guidelines as to what it will allow to be exhibited. For European ceramics, glass and crystal, for example, the dateline for factory produced items is the 1950s. Objects that are decorated or painted in a later period are not acceptable. Objects, which have been so heavily restored and/or damaged as to change their original nature, function, or the artisan's intention are not acceptable. All restorations or repairs should be mentioned on labels. Pieces with later mounts are not acceptable. The deadline for studio works is also the 1950s.

In 2010, the AIFAF will be held from February 3 to February 8 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

All year, I've sifted through story after story in which auctions either miss or barely attain low-end estimates. So, the action at Bukowskis auction house in Stockholm easily caught my attention. The chess set (probably) used in the match against Death in Ingmar Bergman's 1957 film "The Seventh Seal" sold for a whopping 100 times the minimum. So, where bidders are committed, there is still plenty of life in the auction market.

The pieces, made from wood and plaster, went for $143,270 shortly after midnight (local) on Tuesday morning. The low-end for the chess set was between $1,400 and $2,100. In total, 339 lots sold at the Bukowskis auction, resulting in $2.5 million, 8.5 times the minimum aggregate asking price of $285,000. Bergman's writing desk, designed by Carl Malmsten, moved for nearly $23,000, and a pair of night tables adorned with scribbled personal notes by Bergman sold for just over $48,000 – despite the commencement of bidding at $2,800.

Depending on the estate, it seems, the auction market is coming back.

When he wasn't planning some of the most memorable parties in New York and in jet setters' playgrounds -- Caroline Kennedy's wedding, galas for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and New York City Ballet, birthdays for Bette Midler and Saul Steinberg, White House holiday parties for President Clinton -- Robert Isabell applied his meticulous design sensibilities to his home. With his passing in July, the experience of attending one of his legendary fetes can never be repeated, but Sotheby's is making it possible to own some of his collection of 20th century design, with an auction scheduled for December 17.

Gallery: Isabell Design Trove