Paul Davis offered elegant room settings and fine art along with some fresh décor at his Concord Antiques Show March 10‱1. Conducted in the historic town’s armory, the show presented 25 exhibiting dealers in the hall selling from their collections. Items ranged from a William and Mary chest on chest to fine art from the 1980s.
After the show, Davis praised the dealers for their collections, which included some Art Deco, Art Nouveau and even a little Modern.
Tradewinds Fine Art from Narragansett, R.I., was having a great time for the weekend. The McKells, Steve and Doris, sold five pieces of fine art during the show, including one of their best in the last hour on Sunday. Their prize for this weekend, according to Steve, was a signed oil on canvas beach scene by Richard Judson Zolan, recently deceased, for $4,500.
Benting & Jarvis Antiques began the show with several good sales. The Barrington, N.H., dealer sold a William and Mary period highboy chest and an early Georgian tilt top tea table in the first few hours Saturday morning. The dealer’s inventory for the show included a pair of high back upholstered armchairs, Georgian period and style upholstered in period designed fabric, several other early tables and a set of book cabinets.
Candlewick Antiques, Milford, N.H., was offering an early maple tall chest with bracket feet, Georgian era, at $1,450. Dealer John Anderson also had an old painted shelf filled with small antiques that were attracting attention. There was a collection of carved wooden butter molds, early lighting and some assorted tole ware pieces.
Several early chests of drawers were the background for Gary Bardsley, a Sudbury, Mass., dealer. His center was an early drop leaf table with Sheraton to Regency transition turned legs and a matched set of American chairs, styled after the Sheraton designs.
Traditional antiques were not all that Davis had assembled for the weekend affair.
From Baltimore, Md., Marvin Wies was offering his latest collection of folk art and Outsider art. Paul Martinez, Westminster, Mass., was showing his collection of art pottery, which is dominated by selections he collects from Germany, Bavaria and other parts of Europe.
Roger Pheulpin, Gloucester, Mass., was offering a collection of silver, dishes and jewelry. From nearby Westwood, Mass., Robinson House sold fine art from the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.
There were several dealers exhibiting later furniture as well. Providence, R.I., dealer Ferguson & D’Arruda Antiques was showing a mixed furniture collection, which included pieces from the last three centuries. Larry Newell, Pillars Antiques of Freeport, Maine, displayed a room setting, which mixed together some Florida room cushioned pieces, painted repurposed furniture, including a table and mirror and an early pewter hutch filled with early earthenware and silver.
Soheil Oriental Rugs was selling from its collection of antique Persian rugs. Soheil and Farah Sasanian, the owners from New York City, were busy with their sales of primarily small pieces all through the weekend.
Davis was an exhibitor at the show as well. He began his antiques career as a dealer more than 30 years ago. His collection included many pieces with early paint decoration and many small antiques. One piece that attracted a good deal of attention was an early blanket chest that had been repainted by Peter Hunt, signed and dated 1943. The story was that it had been done in just two colors, black and light beige, as a special request for a customer.
The Concord Antiques Show has been a fixture for Davis for 18 years, who grew up in the town before eventually settling in Newcastle, Maine. His other shows are now all in Maine, including the Maine Antiques Festival in Union and Bar Harbor, both in August. He is also working on a plan for another Concord show in the fall. For information, www.pauldavisshows.com or 207-221-3108.
