In Its Third Year, Charleston Show Is On A Roll

CHARLESTON, S.C.

:"The difference between shows in the North and the South is that in the North, three-quarters of the sales are in the first four hours. In the South, they are in the last four hours," said Virginia dealer Sumpter Priddy, the well-known specialist in American, especially Southern, furniture.

Thanks to the Charleston International Antiques Show, which returned to the Carolina Yacht Club ballroom on the city's historic waterfront March 17-19, conventional wisdom may be changing. The booming Colonial capital and its barrier islands - which are experiencing an enormous influx of affluent second-home buyers, escalating real estate values and a culinary and cultural renaissance spurred, in part, by the town's internationally known Spoleto Festival - now has a lively antiques show to go along.

Still in its infancy, the three-year-old fair founded by Historic Charleston Foundation and managed by Josh and Sandy Wainwright of Keeling Wainwright Associates has both energy and enormous promise. As Westport, Conn., exhibitor George Subkoff put it, "What's wonderful is the enthusiasm of the people here. The Charleston show is practically unique in this respect."

Some of the show's most prominent specialists have not sold well, pointing to the need for a more focused, sustained campaign to attract serious collectors. Nevertheless, patrons are coming from further afield each year. This year, dealers reported selling to buyers from Washington, New York, Boston, Chicago, St Louis and Texas. Historic Charleston Foundation welcomed collectors groups from several states, an initiative it plans to build upon.

"We see more people here from other places," said Centreville, Del., dealer Gary Young, coaxed out of semiretirement to do the show.

"Charleston is a very distinct entity," said Judy King Watson of King-Thomasson Antiques, Asheville, N.C. "For these wonderful historic homes here they like very formal furniture. But many new houses are being built on the barrier islands. For those, our brand of English vernacular furniture is very appropriate."

To get a sense of Charleston style, one need only consult J. Thomas Savage, Jr's 1995 book,The Charleston Interior. It illustrates Georgian to Classical style Charleston homes whose interiors are furnished with American and English neoclassical furniture, looking glasses, sconces and lighting; fine silver and glass; paintings, especially portraiture; and Chinese export porcelain.

Savage, curator of Historic Charleston Foundation and before joining Sotheby's and, now, Winterthur, lectured on Saturday, March 18, as part of the 2006 Festival of Houses & Gardens and the Charleston International Antique Show, both projects of Historic Charleston Foundation. For those who have not attended before, it is hard to convey the scope the House & Garden Festival, which draws as many as 15,000 patrons for tours of 150 historic properties, lectures and other events offered daily from mid-March to mid-April.

Much of the credit for the Charleston International Antiques Show goes to Katharine S. Robinson, executive director of Historic Charleston Foundation for the past five and a half years. One of the most vital and successful preservation movements in the country, the foundation was established in 1947 to protect buildings, landscapes and cultural resources. Advocacy programs are an important part of its agenda, which is heavily subsidized by funds raised by the festival. When Historic Charleston Foundation trustees decided to start a charity antiques show, they turned to Robert Linderman, a Boston resident who is active in the Ellis Memorial Antiques Show and for a time lived in Charleston with his wife, Arrel. It was Linderman who put Historic Charleston Foundation in touch with Keeling Wainwright Associates, manager of the Ellis show, among others.

"We don't want to be the Winter Show, Philadelphia or Ellis. We want to be the very best show for this region. We'll fine tune each tune, but we don't see replacing exhibitors. We were lucky to get Sumpter Priddy, Jeffrey Tillou and Jonathan Trace in this year," said Josh Wainwright, whose jewel-box fair is marked by its high quality and intimate, somewhat informal ambience. Booths have soft, paper-covered walls. The show's floor is uncarpeted.

"Charleston is a quiet and sophisticated place. Many people have the means to participate in this antiques show. We want to offer them quality and variety, with prices that range the gamut," said Robinson. She has no plans to enlarge the 32-exhibitor fair. "I'm so pleased with its scale. It's perfect for Charleston, for what our population can support."

The wait-listed Thursday evening preview was a huge social success, drawing 650 people for mingling, shopping and noshing on the best passed hors d'oeuvres ever, everything from Charleston's signature fried oysters to baby lamb chops. Attendance at the Friday evening Young Collectors' soiree drew another 200 patrons. Said Robinson, "It was a savvy crowd and there were several major purchases."

Martha Stewart readily accepted Robinson's invitation to chair the opening night preview party. The following morning at noon, the decorating authority lectured to 700 clearly thrilled women at the swank Charleston Place hotel several blocks away from the show.

"The mix of merchandise in this show is getting better. The audience is well-heeled, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Most of the dealers are doing quite well," said David Silliman, a Southern furniture specialist who opened A. Fairfax Antiques nine years ago with his wife, Ann Fairfax. The King Street dealers sold mirrors, a hunt board, an Audubon print, a silver urn and a 1776 map of Sullivan's Island, S.C.

Many dealers brought Southern material. A rare circa 1750-60 Charleston Chippendale mahogany dressing table with canted and reeded corners was $145,000 at Sumpter Priddy Antiques, Alexandria, Va.

Hirschl & Adler Galleries paired a portrait of Robert Field Stockton, $55,000, with Charleston's picturesque Battery as its backdrop, with a Phyfe & Son desk related to one that the Manhattan dealers sold to collector Richard Jenrette for Milford Plantation, his Greek Revival estate outside of Charleston.

Litchfield, Conn., dealer Jeffrey Tillou showed a mahogany pier table, probably from Virginia or Maryland, with fretwork returns.

George Subkoff offered a dolphin-arm Classical sofa, $22,000, by Deming & Bulkeley. The New York cabinetmakers opened a shop in Charleston in 1818.

Southern textiles included a Charleston quilt in a Rising Sun pattern at Stella Rubin; "Maria," a silk embroidered depiction of a literary heroine, $22,000, at Stephen and Carol Huber; and a six-star Confederate flag at Jeff Bridgman.

Prints specialists W. Graham Arader did well with botanicals and early maps of the Carolina coast. Fine arts dealer Fletcher & Copenhaver sold drawings of Charleston interest by Virginia artist Margaret May Dashiell. Christopher Rebollo offered "Too Tight," Christian Mayr's signed and dated genre scene of 1837.

Rifton, N.Y., silver dealer Jonathan Trace included an engraved award of merit of March 17, 1825, presented to Charlestonian William Crafts for his address to General Lafayette. Baltimore, Md., dealer Mark M. Gaines also offered Southern silver.

Vintage couture dealer Katy Kane of New Hope, Penn., was practically mobbed. On preview night, determined shoppers pawed through her delectable inventory, which ranged from a Fortuny stenciled velvet jacket to a Yves Saint Laurent silk suit.

"While this show is still fresh in their minds, we're asking exhibitors to think about changes we might make next year," said Robinson, whose staff works with one of the largest show committee's around. "Historic Charleston Foundation is proud of its reputation and of the reputation of this show. We want to keep everything moving forward."