tefaf

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.

Another year of The European Fine Art Fair (better known as Tefaf) in the Netherlands and diamond kingpin Laurence Graff is already buying and selling. Bloomberg reports that he sold an emerald-cut white diamond, of about 30 carats for $5 million to a U.S. client. Not bad, although last year bang Graff sold a 70-carat yellow diamond out of their booth for around $11 million. Graff also spent some money at Tefaf picking up one of Jean-Michel Basquiat's boxer paintings for 3.5 million euros ($4.5 million).

This year there are a record 239 dealers offering over $1 billion worth of art ranging from Old Master paintings to silver, ceramics and contemporary art. The sale runs from March 13 to March 22. All the works are of the highest quality, Art Daily reveals that there are 25 committees made up of 155 experts who ensure quality, condition and authenticity. The entrance hall in the exhibition is decorated with thousands of flowers for an impressive display. Many are hoping that after the huge results earned by the Yves St. Laurent sale in Paris, collectors are once again in a spending mood.

Tefaf, the world's largest art and antiques fair, closed Saturday with a bang as a 70.12 carat yellow diamond was sold for about $11 million! The enormous emerald cut stone was sold by London jewelry dealers Graff to a European client. Of course there were stunning pieces of art and other jewelry to be found at the exclusive fair and even with financial markets in a downward turn Tefaf experienced a 3.3% increase in attendees compared to 2007. When one buys a diamond that large, do you actually wear it or just keep it in a glass box to show your dinner guests...personally I think it would seriously weigh down my hand, not to mention completely keep me from ever putting that hand in a pocket. Click through for more exciting sales and a thief's prize.

If you're looking to buy beautiful pieces of fine art you don't always have to battle it out in the auction world. TEFAF, or "The European Fine Art Fair," is scheduled to start this week and will run from March 7th - 16th. Last year the fair sold more than $500 million in fine art, and this year they hope to not only meet but exceed that number.

TEFAF is geared towards the "highest caliber of collector," and they are actually looking to avoid big crowds because they "threaten the fair's reputation of quality and exclusivity." Among many valuable items that will be available for sale is the 1890 "The Child with an Orange" by Van Gogh for $30 million.

New York Gallery, Salander-O'Reilly is bringing home some Dutch art to Dutch soil at TEFAF 2006. The painting, a dark portrait of the Apostle James. The artist, Rembrandt van Rijn. Completed toward the end of Rembrandt's life in 1661, this work is decidedly moody and filled with the things that make us love Rembrandt. While I confess that I'm no art critic, I'm certain that this painting would look really good in my library. TEFAF is like the Louvre, except the art has a price tag.

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.

Europe's most important flea market is coming up soon, so make your reservations to get to the oldest city in the Netherlands, Maastricht. From March 10-19, TEFAF is the European Fine Art Fair and features over 200 of the world's best antique and art dealers plying their wares before the most discriminating customers on earth. At over 300,000 square feet and with between $500 million to $1 billion in art and antiques on the floor, it is well worth the 40 euro admission fee. Everything on display is for sale and I'm sure you could haggle if you wanted. I'll bring you some other special items from the fair as we go along so stay tuned.

This etching by James McNeill Whistler will be among those exhibited by The Fine Art Society of London.