It’s a small section of a very large antique and arts fair but there was a lot of activity during the first two days in the contemporary and collectible jewelry sections this year at TEFAF Maastricht … and some changes.
The 2018 edition of the annual art fair will run till March 18 at the MECC exhibition center in Maastricht, Netherlands. Considered the grand dame of all art fairs, there was considerable change this year, including 16 new exhibitors, two invitation-only preview days and a new floor plan.
Perhaps the biggest change in the contemporary jewelry area was the first appearance of London high jeweler, Glenn Spiro, who operates under the brand name “G”. In his 28 years in business it is only the second time he has shown his work at a public exhibition. Based on a conversation with him during the first preview day it appears he found a home.
“We’re standing here for the first time and I think we held our own with the look and style,” he said inside his booth which looks like a salon in a large house. “People are making comments and are very surprised by what they see, which I think is great. Everyone is very lovely and there’s a great energy. It’s nice to be here.”
Hong Kong jewelry artist, Wallace Chan, marking his third year at the fair, has moved to a more central location and a more open space. He is happy with the increased flow of visitors from different directions and created a space that enhances their experience. Chan designs, constructs and lights the space himself. He chose to make triangular-shaped display cases for his jewels and increased the lighting in the cases to coincide with the increased light that now enters the space from the exhibition hall.
“When I looked at the new stand I saw that it was next to a crossroad and therefore it is possible this will bring in more people so we will see more flow, and the flow of people naturally brings to mind the flow of water,” he said through a translator. “I would like to attract more people to come into my stand that’s why I came up with an open design. This is because I believe that if I open my heart the world it will also open to me and the more open I am the more open the universe will be to me as well. This kind of openness will lead to an even better relationship between people and lead people to greater curiosity.”
He continued, “When we think of the flow of people I think of the flow of water as well. In the Chinese culture we look at the yin and the yang too much flow, too much water obviously is not going to bring you a balanced status so in order to balance too much flow. I came up with the showcases in triangle shapes, because triangle in Chinese culture corresponds to the element of fire. When you have water and fire they are going to be a balanced state.
The creations Chan brought this trip were typical in the spectacular nature that many of us have grown to expect from him. He combines precious and less expensive materials with personal jewelry-making techniques to create elaborate, colorful pieces with complex story lines. In recent years he has been producing more sculptures made of titanium and other materials. He showed several of these items in his booth, along with his jewels.
Everything looked pretty much the same at the exposed American nutwood framed Hemmerle exhibition space. However, there was one major exception: Christian Hemmerle, who runs the fourth-generation Munich-based art jeweler, has been named to TEFAF’s Board of Trustees. In his very busy booth he said the new responsibilities are “a lot of work,” but he was smiling as he said it. He should be smiling, upon opening on the first preview day; he sold a pair of one-of-a-kind diamond and aluminum “Pegasus” earrings.
Both Chan and Christian Hemmerle said they were reducing the number of fairs they will be exhibiting this year. Chan says he needs more time to create while Hemmerle says the art fair circuit is a bit of grind. However, both will continue their relationship with TEFAF Maastricht. Hemmerle has been exhibiting at the fair for 20 years and with Christian Hemmerle now a board member, the company is certainly there to stay.
Ward and Nico Landrigan, owners of the Verdura and Belperron jewelry brands, were on hand for the third year with original pieces and new items based on original drawings from the famed mid-20th Century jewelers: Suzanne Belperron and Duke Fulco di Verdura. Among the many highlights was a pearl and gold necklace, a gold link necklace and blue turquoise earrings both by Belperron.
On the Verdura side of the exhibition space, items that stood out included a sapphire “Fan” bracelet made of platinum set with 111 cabochon sapphires along with round, baguette and pavé-set diamonds. Another item was the colorful Ravenna Cuffs made of enamel, gold with colorful gemstones.
All by themselves in the Design Section of the show (an area as compact as the contemporary jewelry section) were Didier and Martine Haspeslagh, owners of Didier Ltd., and said they couldn’t be happier. This is a firm that acquires jewelry made and designed by painters, sculptors, architects and designers from the late 19th to the end of the 20th Century.
There are not many businesses that specialize in this collectible jewelry niche so they said they feel more at home with the modern and contemporary galleries as their neighbors. This year, a few of the highlights were personal pieces by Picasso and Salvador Dali, and jewels by Dutch jeweler and sculptor, Ruudt Peters, who uses traditional materials manipulated in ways that produce rough textured sculptural pieces.
In the more traditional sphere of antique and period jewels, the items on display seemed endless.
New York-based A La Vieille Russie brought its extensive collection of Fabergé jewels and art objects. Among them is a Headstone figurine of a Coachman, circa 1910, at Maastricht. The coat is made of lapis lazuli, gold buttons and colorful enamel and the statuette stands at 3 5/8 inches high. It shared space with a silver and sandstone matchstick holder in the shape of a smiling elephant, circa 1890, with royal provenance. A more unusual item that caught my eye was a black ironwork suite of jewelry suite made by Geiss A of Berlin, circa 1830. Using an openworked technique, the pieces were light and airy although made with a heavy metal.
London jeweler S.J. Phillips, was placing an emphasis on its extensive Cartier collection but the pieces I noticed were a 1770 silver and diamond floral cross pendant using openwork asymmetrical floral trails; a 1930 long ruby and diamond necklace by French jeweler Mauboussin; and a circa 1930 Art Deco panel necklace by Marchak made of three rows of turquoise beads with carved lapis lazuli in between, and centered by an oval lapis in a floral and foliate scroll design.
Paris-based Les Enluminures specializes in Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and jewels (particularly rings). Along with the rings and other smaller items was the “Two Collars For An Abbess,” made in 17th Century Spain. Each necklace is more than two feet in length made of six strands of irregularly shaped small beads of carved and polished jet, interspersed with slightly larger faceted beads and rectangular bar and diamond shapes in varying sizes. Suspended from the necklace is a Sacred Heart pendant with an engraved “Wound of Christ.” The long necklaces are worn by the Abbess, the head of an abbey of nuns.
Van Gelder Traditional Indian Folk Jewellery, a Dutch antiques firm, had many pieces of yellow gold antique jewels with pearls, diamonds and colored gems from India, a place revered for its detailed and elaborate historic jewels. The collection of jewels is well researched depicting style and regional origin. An early 20th Century gold Guttapusal necklace from the Andra Pradesh region features bunches of pearls (gutta) pierced as beads (pusal) set with emeralds, rubies and diamonds.
Belgian antique and period dealers, Epoque Fine Jewels, had a number of pieces of Royal Belgium origin and of historic significance. The piece that couldn’t help but stand out because of its large, lone display, is the Art Nouveau “Glycines” Choker by Philippe Wolfers. It was designed with five alternating carved watermelon tourmaline and opal wisterias, between purple and green plique-à-jour enamel scrolling leaf clusters, enhanced by garnet-set scrolls and ruby accents, mounted in gold. Another smaller item that I noticed was a circa 1890 diamond and pearl Mistletoe brooch, owned by Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. It was a gift from her sister, Duchess Marie Gabrielle of Bavaria.
Hancocks of London made its annual appearance at TEFAF with a number of new acquisitions. Among them is a gold, citrine and diamond flexible bib necklace by London jewelry designers Andrew Grima, whose pieces are currently very popular among collectors. Other pieces that caught my eye was a Buccellati yellow gold bracelet decorated with gold leaves, an Egyptian scarab and multi-bead necklace by Marcus & Co., and a yellow gold diamond collar necklace by Buccellati in the Italian jeweler’s famed Rigato pattern.
Antiques dealer, S. J. Shrubsole New York, had a number of interesting jewels from Bulgari, Cartier and Mellerio. One item that stood out was an unsigned antique silver over gold flower brooch, set en tremblant (to tremble), with diamond pavé (circa 1880). Another piece that demanded attention was an antique English Victorian necklace by Carlo Giuliano (circa 1880) with an intricate filigree pattern made of Renaissance style enameling and set with a central tourmaline, small antique cushion cut diamonds and pearl drops.
