maastricht

Best in Lighting
Each of the finalists for best lighting is a master in their field. 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

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Bodner Chandeliers
Jean Perzel
Niermann Weeks
Schonbek

Best in Furniture
The best in furniture nominees offer a range of original artistry from simple and pure to the exotic; from traditional to the ultra-modern. The styles may vary but each has a timeless quality that extends far beyond trendiness. Many of their creations are collected by connoisseurs and even museums.

Vladimir Kagan
Kreiss
Roche-Bobois
Stickley Furniture
William Switzer & Associates

Best in Glassware
The Best in Glassware nominees 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. The styles may vary but all the nominees have their own proud tradition of glass craftsmanship.

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Lalique
Orrefors
Steuben
Tiffany

Best in Dishware
Nominees for Best in Dishware include companies that have been producing china for decades; some 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.

Bernardaud
Haviland Limoges
Pickard China
Tiffany
Wedgwood

Best in Antiques Resources
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.

American International Fine Art Fair, Palm Beach
International Fine Art and Antique Dealer's Show, New York
Maastricht Art Fair, Netherlands
The San Francisco Art Antiques Fair
Winter Fine Art & Antiques Fair, Olympia, London

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.

As promised, here is an item that is going to be up for grabs at TEFAF Maastricht in a couple of weeks. This pen and ink drawing by French artist Jean-Honore Fragonard is entitled "Ruggiero Blinds The Orc." This drawing is being brought to TEFAF by the distinguished Agnew's Gallery of Old Bond Street. Agnew's will also be displaying works by Lord Leighton Frederic and Francois Boucher.