The Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair is taking place once again in the grounds of the National Trust property Petworth House in West Sussex. Opening from Friday 13 until Sunday 15 May, the Fair boasts around 60 exhibitors gathering from across the United Kingdom.
A royal twist
In this, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee year, it seems appropriate that there are some royal items coming up for sale. Amongst the impressive art for sale is “View of Westminster Abbey” oil on paper by Felix Runcie Kelly (1914 -1994) with an asking price of £12,500. A commission for the Dunlop Rubber Company Limited and used as a full-page advertisement in 1953 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in numerous publications including The Queen and The Illustrated London News. A copy of one of the advertisements accompanies the painting. Kelly was commissioned to paint murals and interior decoration in many of England’s most important houses. His work is included in the collections of many museums including the Tate, Southampton City Museum and the National Trust.
Full of movement, “Lifeguard Escort – The Coronation” is a pen and ink, red crayon and watercolour on tinted paper by Feliks Topolski (1907-1989). In 1958, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, commissioned Topolski to create a large scale mural for Buckingham Palace depicting the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Works by Topolski can be found in the British Museum, Tate Gallery, Imperial War Museum and in Poland, where he was born.
The Queen’s grandfather, King George V, celebrated his Silver Jubilee in 1935, which was captured on canvas by Sir Peter Markham Scott (1909-1989). “The Night of King George V Silver Jubilee, 6th May 1935″ is signed and dated and inscribed “Jubilee Night” on the reverse, priced at £12,500.
More recognisable coronation items for sale include a beautiful Arts & Crafts Cymric silver and enamel spoon by Archibald Knox for Liberty & Co. Commemorative glass including a rare Regency crown scent bottle made for the coronation of King George IV, English, 1820, £650 and a fine pair of Queen Caroline engraved commemorative goblets, English, circa 1821, £850.
Not just restricted to British royals, items for sale include a high quality carved walnut display cabinet, inlaid with heraldic beasts and the monogram of Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden, Germany, circa 1850-1860, sovereign Grand Duke of Baden, reigning from 1856 to 1907. For the first time, tribal art will be for sale at the Petworth Park Fair with a fine prestige basket from the Kuba people of Congo, circa 1930, that would have been used to hold jewellery and rare items owned by a Royal lady.
Exhibitors at the fair are predominantly members of The British Antique Dealers’ Association and LAPADA The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers. They offer for sale a wide range of desirable items from furniture, jewellery, sculpture, glass, lighting, photography, vintage watches and silver to paintings, drawings, ceramics, clocks, 20th century design objects, maps, prints, oriental carpets, tribal art, historical medals, aeronautica and many other decorative and unique works of art spanning the centuries.
This annual event attracts collectors, interior designers and individuals from the south of England, as well as people from much further afield and abroad (when travel was unrestricted). Tickets are £10 each and can be booked through Eventbrite at https://tinyurl.com/y4f5nsk3 and include complimentary access to Petworth House and Park over the three days. Free entry to the antique fair for National Trust members. See www.petworthparkfair.com for more information.
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