Decorative Collective Battersea Art Fair 2015
Decorative Collective Battersea Art Fair 2015 Hugh St Clair
September is an exciting time for those buying and selling antiques. Over the summer dealers from The Decorative Collective have been traversing the globe looking for beautiful and interesting pieces for our delectation.
This autumn therefore it seemed very fitting for The Decorative Collective to showcase some of their most exciting dealers at the increasingly popular and well respected Decorative Antiques and Textile Fair in Battersea Park, London.
“The Fair is a friendly place to do business and it will be a chance see old friends and meet new dealers and clients,” says Jane Walton Director of the D.C.
The Decorative Collective stand at the Fair will be divided into three sections and promises to be a visual feast thanks to the variety of stock the dealers are showing. James Gooch of Doe and Hope, recently voted BBC Homes and Antiques Young Gun of the Year, used to work in television and has hinted at a very theatrical set . “I am recreating the atmosphere of a mid 19th century Gothic country house using panels of historic distressed wallpaper. There will be a feeling of beautiful decay I want the room to look as it was left 150 years ago.” James will be selling beautiful Regency mahogany and leather furniture, taxidermy, a set of interesting Daguerreotypes, distressed gilt mirrors and unframed oil paintings as well as a collection of china with the original rivets and some extraordinary artefacts from around the world which is his stock in trade.
Daniel Larsson’s display will be very different. Daniel is based in Sweden and sells the highest quality 18th century Swedish painted furniture. Today when painted furniture is so popular there are many modern fakes around, but Daniel finds the real thing and has become one of the foremost specialists in period Gustavian Furniture. ”A ban on imported furniture in the early 18th century encouraged native craftsmen to work in the plentiful pine of Sweden” he explains. “The pieces were painted white, which over the years have turned grey- no piece was originally grey. They were also red and the rarer blue. Men’s desks were painted black and are extremely collectable. Most of the furniture has been repainted over time and to verify a true antique we often scrape back the layers to reveal the crusty original paint.”
Sharing the third area will be Spencer Swaffer who has been dealing for 40 years and describes his taste as “old money grandeur with a humorous undertone,” and also Jane Walton and Penny Worrall. Jane loves to buy garden and iron pieces but will also bring to the fair some funky chairs, marble and wood items, some sculpture and lighting that altogether will look very cool and smart. Penny adds the finishing touches, “I am not a textile dealer but love finding beautiful fabric from all over the world to make into cushions and lampshades to add that individual touch to a home.” I like utilitarian hemp from France but also old Chinese textiles. “The Dai are a tiny minority tribe in South West China who weave blankets on tiny looms and the Zhuang another minority embroider silk on to silk cotton blankets.”
The Decorative Antiques and Textiles Fair, 29 September - 4 October 2015, www.decorativefair.com. If you would like a complimentary ticket to the fair, please email Jane here, including your postal address. The DC stand number is 61.