Wednesday, February 22, 2006

The European Fine Art Fair, Netherlands

http://www.new-europe.info/new-europe/displaynews.asp?id=121255
The European Fine Art Fair, taking place at the MECC in Maastricht (The Netherlands) from March 10th to 19th 2006, is to feature some Egyptian items, including a winged scarab pectoral from the Third Intermediate Period from a private collection in Paris, and a wooden and bronze ibis from the Late Dynastic period, formerly in an American private collection.
The Fair's website at the address below, claims to include dealers by invitation only: "the most illustrious of the world’s art and antique dealers – nearly 218 eminent dealers from 15 countries – are invited to exhibit at TEFAF. These dealers bring to the Fair a wide range of exceptional and exquisite pieces of the very highest quality. TEFAF is also special because of the vetting process, which is second to none. Each piece is scrutinised for authenticity, quality and condition, by a team of over 140 international experts covering all specialities. The accuracy of the description is verified, and the provenance checked against the Art Loss Register."

In the light of recent legal cases against the Getty and the Met, together with requests for items obtained as a result of illegal trading to be returned, fairs like this are presumably under mounting pressure to vet both the dealers and the artefacts traded.

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