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ASK THE EXPERT: Antiquing, Roadshow-Style

Q: My boyfriend and I have been antique shoppers for years, and we’ve collected all kind of art pieces and historical items from around the world. But we want to kick it up a notch by attending one of those prestigious art and antique fairs we hear about in Europe. Can you give us a run-down on the best fairs?

A: Thanks to cultural phenomenon like PBS’ Antiques Roadshow, “antiquing” has graduated from its little-old-lady reputation to a mainstream passion. Of course, gays have long based their travel itineraries around visiting antique stores. But attending a full-fledged antiques and arts show in Europe might just blow your mind.

The granddaddy of all the fairs is TEFAF, held every March in Maastricht. This Dutch city is lacking the scale of Amsterdam’s gay infrastructure, but you’ll barely have time to notice at TEFAF, with its 260 dealers and 74,000 attendees. The fair’s sprawling state-of-the-art exhibit halls are more like indoor boulevards, and the crème de la crème of the globe’s collectors fork over millions for things like Dutch Master paintings, Greek marble statues, Roman coins, and Egyptian mummy masks. But even Jane and Joe antiquers will find little treasures like snuffboxes, barometers, and Mid-century lamps. TEFAF brands itself as “The World’s Leading Art and Antiques Fair,” and no one’s arguing the point. (See a video embedded below from TEFAF with Tim Jeffries an exhibitor talking about portraits by Irving Penn.)

Where TEFAF overwhelms with quantity, Paris’ Biennale des Antiques is, in true French form, all about quality. Occurring in September of even numbered years, it’s a rather exquisite show, with an emphasis on French and Continental furniture, art, and antiques (especially of the 1700s and 1800s). The items are meticulously displayed in gilded period rooms in the halls of the Grand-Palais (a 1900 Art Nouveau masterpiece in itself), within a few metro stops of the Marais district.

And last but not least, London’s Olympia International Fine Art & Antiques Fair happens every June. The timing just so happens to coincide with the city’s “royal season,” and a blue-blood or two are often on hand to posh up the cocktail receptions swirling around the hoity-toity fair. The fair bustles under the arched sky-lighted roof of the Olympia Halls, built in the 1880s and located in gay-popular Earl’s Court. You’ll find English items from the 19th Century and earlier including paintings, furniture, ceramics, glass, textiles, clocks, books, jewelry, prints, and even fossils. Be sure to plan for extra carry-on luggage for the trip home!

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