A sparkling little gem of a show made its 53rd appearance over the weekend of July 31⁁ugust 2, and at that age, it is one of the oldest shows in the region. Pared down to 15 dealers this year, the compact floor plan made it easy to take several turns around the room, getting a precise view of the objects for sale.
This year the show, held in the elementary school gymnasium, was air-conditioned, a major undertaking for the site. Dealers and visitors were grateful.
Most booths were laid out in room settings, with pieces chosen to fit easily into any home in the area.
Sidewalks were crowded with tourists coursing the shops just a few blocks away; visitors to the antiques show, however, exhibited a distinct seriousness of purpose. Moreover, there were plenty of them.
Armen Amerigian Antiques of West Bridgewater, Mass., had a full house, drawn primarily to the excellent estate jewelry for sale. The cases were filled with delectable pearls, cameos with great appeal and a wall display housed some fine glass. Early on the first morning of the show, several “really good” sales had already been made.
Cromwell, Conn., dealer Custom House showed fine early American furniture and accessories, although its main focus is on antique lamps and shades. The booth was filled with fine antique lamps set off by such fine pieces as the New Hampshire birch, cherry and sycamore tambour top desk that was made around 1810. Another object of interest was the head of a child that was actually a wood mold used in the Philippines for making papier maché figures. A fine display of blue and white porcelain occupied a demilune table along one wall and brass gleamed from every corner.
Masonic elements decorated several pieces offered by Killingworth, Conn., dealer Dick Timme, who was busy making sales opening morning. He sold a set of sterling flatware, a period English dresser and three paintings, among other objects. A fancy 1880s pair of columns from the Old Lyme, Conn., Masonic temple was carved, gilded, painted and topped with globes and attracted a lot of attention. A handsome circa 1790 Massachusetts Hepplewhite mahogany bow front chest was for sale, along with more silver and porcelain, rugs and inlaid boxes.
Essex Antiquarians of Essex, Mass., displayed a wide selection of “take-homes” †objects that the dealer describes as items that fit well in any collection. A framed 1807 schoolboy calligraphy by William Laws of Chelmsford was decorated with an image of an elephant and a verse about the same creature. The Nineteenth Century painting “Crossing the Ford” by English artist Charles Cooper Henderson, a night scene with the coach passing through a stream, had interesting provenance that included the collection of William Randolph Hearst.
The gallery showed a range of attractive accessories, such as a carved and turned cheese tray, an American Hepplewhite mahogany Canterbury and an inlaid walnut and mahogany lazy Susan that dealer Rick Garofalo said was a marriage and was probably American or English.
A nest of three tables with bamboo carved legs was marked “sold” by Glenbrook Antiques of Walden, N.Y. A rosewood deck chair was still for sale, as was an oval pair of silver candlesticks. A one-drawer stand with a deep apron held a handsomely ornate pair of silver candlesticks and a similarly embellished three-tier candy dish. Dealer David Komyathy said he has done the Chatham show for about 15 years. With a nod to the setting, he included some marine paintings and a nautical lamp among the offerings.
Prints and posters adorned the booth walls of the Atlanta dealer Gold Leaf Antiques, which specializes in fine oil paintings and period frames. Offerings included the Howard Chandler Christy poster “Clear the Way,” a poster by Andy Warhol advertising Halston, several French opera posters and a selection of Toulouse-Lautrec posthumous lithographs that would make a nice addition to any collection.
Gold Leaf also showed a pair of Chinese mixed metal vases, a Durand aurene threaded art glass lamp and a small and very modish onyx lamp carved in the form of Nefertiti. A selection of estate jewelry was also an attraction. Sales were made early.
An English Queen Anne-style pine Welsh cupboard carved deeply with hearts and flourishes beckoned shoppers into the booth of East Amherst, N.Y., dealer J&M Antiques, as did a handsome four-drawer chest with bird’s-eye maple drawer fronts and backsplash and a tiger maple hanging cabinet with a center mirror. Paintings, prints and two Chinese porcelain figures of the Immortals were also for sale.
Asian porcelain and Canton ware, textiles and silver provided fine choices from Holly Kahn Fine Arts of Chatham, who was new to the show and was making sales early on. She included a pair of Samson plates among the blue and white, and offered a pretty condiment tray fitted with five export dishes. Enviable textiles were also for sale. Kahn said she is attracted to examples that tell a story or ones she values for their appearance, the level of skill of the worker and the verses.
David and Donna Kmetz of Douglas, Mass., experienced a good, steady stream of buyers throughout the show although they made all their sales on the last day of the event. They had a small, 7½ by 9½ inches, Dodge McKnight impressionistic watercolor “Circus Tents,” a scene of a piazza with a horse and carriage by contemporary Florentine artist Graziano Marsili, a selection of pictures evocative of the seashore and a Nineteenth Century view of cows in a stream by H.P. Giles. A pair of pictures by R. Ives Gammell from his series “Fragments of an Uncompleted Cycle” proved to be a big draw.
The art pottery offered by Westminster, Mass., dealer Paul Martinez drew a steady flow of interested shoppers. Of special note was James Lundberg’s “Indian Basket” vase, along with a pair of amphora vases in a soft green and pink floral design with a matching candlestick.
Atlanta print and map dealer Jo McDonough was busy with buyers of her American prints and maps when we visited. She said she was already experiencing “excellent” results. As buyers perused the stacks of prints, she showed us a thick sheaf of paper †the progress so far on The Pink Umbrella, her mystery story about the antiques trade.
The fine, mostly English, needlework hanging on the walls of the Perry-Joyce booth included samplers and pictures. They were set off by other decorative accessories such as Burlington ware, Burleigh ware and a most amusing Arthur Wood pitcher in the form of the pied piper and a cat. The Sawyer, Mich., dealer also had a large hand turned burl bowl, missing a bite, that rested on a candlestand surrounded by polished horse brasses. A fine English oak mule chest was set out with Asian porcelain and a Burmese figure of the Buddha.
Drakefield Antiques of Longmeadow, Mass., specializes in American furniture and accessories, with a subspecialty in fireplace accessories. A selection of brass fireplace tools included a long and slender blow poke, brass andirons and Hessian examples, and a painted bellows.
An interesting four-drawer chest with a dovetailed top of bird’s-eye maple and clear maple and bird’s-eye maple drawer fronts was already tagged “sold” in the booth. The booth walls were hung with an array of mirrors that reflected such offerings as several fine mahogany two-drawer stands and a set of four grain painted chairs with urn form splats from about 1840 as well as a Hudson Valley painting.
For information, call the Chatham Chamber of Commerce at 508-945-0793 or 800-715-5567.
