Returning to the Harrogate Convention Centre from October 4-7 this year, it offers a choice of 45 fully-vetted stands with a wide range of objects.
“There is a real varied mix this year,” says director Ingrid Nilson. “It makes the line up quite exciting with a good variety of disciplines from antiquity to contemporary.”
Particularly well represented in terms of exhibitor numbers is ceramics and glass. For those on the hunt for ceramics, highlights include several good examples of Rockingham, the British 19th century porcelain manufacturer known for its ornate style and fine decoration.
Rockingham rarities
Graham Ruddock brings a c.1830 Rockingham card rack with applied flower heads and two fine artistdecorated scenes: a coastal view by William Willis Bailey and a floral spray by Thomas Brentnall.
Fellow porcelain specialist Bryan Bowden Antiques brings two Rockingham figures from the Continental Peasant series – the Paysanne du Canton de Zurich and the Paysanne de Sagran en Tirol.
Collectors of glass will find a wide range of objects. Marris Antiques offers a series of 18th century drinking glasses including a fine English tumbler engraved with a royal coat of arms c.1790.
Other stand-out objects in this area include a cameo glass bowl designed by Joshua Hodgetts for Stevens & Williams in 1917, brought by dealer Mark West, while a René Lalique Grenouille (frog) car mascot c.1929 appears on the stand of Mark Goodger.
Among the more recent offerings is a large promotional bottle of a classic Nina Ricci scent L’Air du Temps offered for £1850 by Hickmet Fine Art.
This bottle, to a 1951 design of intertwining doves by Marc Lalique (son of René), was made for display purposes at Fortnum and Mason in the 1970s. As an added attraction, its original contents are intact.
Second in command
This is the fair’s second year under Nilson’s management following a change in ownership in 2016, though the event has taken place since 1951. The number of exhibitors is up from last year with the date of the fair also returned to its traditional slot after a slight change for the previous staging. “We have a full house this year which is very encouraging,” Nilson says. “Many are back this year and there are those who are exhibiting for the first time.”
A long association with the British Antique Dealers’ Association makes it unique among Yorkshire’s many fairs. Among the BADA stalwarts will be Elaine Phillips Antiques bringing a 17th century Aubusson tapestry (£2850) while Rountree Tryon Galleries show an oil of a Blenheim spaniel by Sir Edwin Landseer (£65,000).
According to Nilson this wide selection of objects suits a northern audience, which she describes as established and knowledgeable: “It is only right that they should have a fair of this calibre on their doorstep”.
