Catching Kemp Hickey’s display at the first sunlight through the skylights in the North Building on Friday morning gave an unusual effect to his decorative arts.
Review and Photos by Tom O’Hara
ATLANTA – Don Scott’s crew continues to fill his two huge buildings – the Atlanta Expo Centers, North and South – each and every month consisting of more than 2,500 booths overflowing with antiques, home décor and vintage collectibles. In an interview, Don said, “I have been seeing exciting times with great antiques; quality antiques offered in our shows more and more each month and selling at very reasonable prices!”
These remarks came while he was sitting in one of a set of six mahogany Chippendale period chairs found by a dealer at his show in January and now being offered at this March 8-11 show. The current owner was offering the set for less than $2,000, which, in Don’s opinion, proved his point. He added, “Investment-grade antiques are showing up every month at this show and also in my Ohio shows, ready to go into shoppers’ homes – furniture, accessories and more!”
Confirming Don’s comments were the exhibits of his dealers, both those who have been with him for many years and some that have just joined the show recently.
Thomas Hoke, a regular for many years, was selling well over the weekend from his collection of Georgian period English furniture and also French furniture from the early Nineteenth Century. The dealer from Salisbury, N.C., shops estates in his home area, but also takes trips to France and England for his collection to have to best selection at affordable prices. His sales this weekend included several tables, a small chest and various accessories.
Victorian Rose is Kathy Tarr’s business: Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century Limoges, Shelley and other fine china. This month she had a great deal of fun selling from her collection and she said it was one of her best weeks there ever. In fact, one customer gathered up about a dozen Shelley cups and saucers from the collection, and there was more before the weekend was over for this Wenham, Mass., dealer.
Chelsea Hill Antiques, Hampton, Conn.
Probably the oldest antiques in the show this weekend were those offered by Michael Perez. The Gainesville, Fla., dealer specializes in the artifacts from Asia Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean areas going back 1,000 or more years. While he does not get to find them in the ruins himself, he does search and trade to be able to offer these ancient relics. This month among the objects in his collection were a Persian bowl from about 800 CE with its original glaze; a Lorestan bronze object he believed to be a rhyton, probably from about 1000 BCE and, finally, a stone jar dating to about the time of Christ but of uncertain origin.
Back to the more typical was Chelsea Hill Antiques, Hampton, Conn., selling up a storm. Tom Nagy, the owner, said he sold several tables from the Eighteenth Century, a Chippendale secretary, a stand from American dating to about 1700 and several paintings he believed were European.
English furniture was the primary seller for Status Symbol, a Lynchburg, Va., antiques dealer and auctioneer. In addition to furniture, the dealer also offered some Nineteenth Century garden ornaments, in particular, a pair gargoyles that definitely were not happy fellows.
Woody Straub was also having a good time with his collection. He does the show virtually every month and so looks hard for pieces that are especially appealing for the Atlanta and Georgia clientele. This month he offered a sideboard from Bibb County, Ga., circa 1830, along with his typical assortment of American Eighteenth Century furniture and Nineteenth Century art.
Richard Purvis, Raleigh, N.C., loves to find fun pieces, something to startle the shoppers. This month it was a carved Native American figure, which he said probably was not old enough to have been made for a cigar store, but it was in any case some sort of sales prop.
Buttes Antiques, Thomasville, N.C.
Collections of English and Asian earthenware are still popular for Tennyson Antiques. This Atlanta dealer is there each month with an extensive collection of Staffordshire transferware, Chinese export and more and sells well – the “go-to” dealer in the show for this collecting category.
Southern Classic Jewelry, Atlanta, has a shop in the downtown Mart but also does shows all over the United States. The business’s collection is estate jewelry, typically pieces that come from area homes and that have been made and modified from family heirlooms. One such piece was a cameo necklace; the cameo itself was Victorian, reframed with more than 2 carats of diamonds surrounding it, and a 14K gold watch chain as the necklace.
More dealers offer later décor as well. Kemp Hickey, Atlanta, was showing and selling Midcentury home furnishings in his display. He has been featuring interesting lighting made from other objects that have become accent pieces.
Hoot-Nana Antiques, Paris, Ky, is among the comparative newcomers to the show, but certainly not to the business. The dealer has been active in shows for more than 20 years in the Mid-Atlantic, only just recently coming to Scott’s Atlanta show. The firm’s collection is dominated by late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Century American furniture with an emphasis on Southern. The preference is for hardwood pieces rather than country style, but there was an excellent Southern pie safe on offer this month.
Sulaymane Berete brought his collection of antique African art to the show. He said the shields originated as protection and defensive weapons in African wars and were also used for ceremonial activities, but now they are highly prized for their art.
Variety is one of the principal attributes of this monthly show, with a slightly changing look each time. The next Scott Antique Market Atlanta is April 12-15 and that is generally considered the beginning of the spring markets, with more outdoor exhibiting of antiques and decorator accessories.
For additional information, www.scottantiquemarket.com or 740-569-2800.
