Mirror, mirror on the wall…

We arrived in Berkeley Square as dusk was approaching.  There in the middle of the garden was a stunning, illuminated Chihuly glass sculpture, perhaps a foreshadowing of what was to come. After all, we were en route to attend the opening evening of the LAPADA Art & Antiques fair, certain to have a delightful time and to see an amazing variety of very special pieces.

The marquee itself is quite something.  They manage to construct, in the middle of a busy London square, a temporary exhibition space on various levels, which incorporates the trees from the garden.   

Chippendale Mahogany card table

LAPADA is a well-renowned trade association for antique and art dealers.  They have very rigorous rules and regulations that all of their members must abide by in order to carry the LAPADA seal and adds an element of credibility to the individual dealers.
  
Once inside, there was a vast array to choose from.  Exhibitors were comprised of over 100 specialists and there were paintings of traditional English hunting scenes, beautiful Chippendale furniture, tapestries, and rugs as well as stunning diamond earrings and Rolex watches in their original boxes from the beginning of the 20th Century. 

Each dealer had their own unique display of the pieces they had brought with them.  Some were set up as living rooms which were very inviting; others were offering a glass of bubbly as you perused the artwork lining the walls.  My personal favourite was a dealer that had the misfortune of having a tree growing through their space, but made the most of it by hanging a series of prints of little mice coming out of their mouse holes as if they were coming out of the tree.

As well as all of the wide selection of unique objects, there were several bars and a restaurant on the upper level overlooking Berkeley Square, providing an opportunity to quench your thirst, or linger over the beautiful scenery.  While this year’s event is now over, it is certainly a date to put in the diary for next year.  

One fellow FOCUS member declared that she was ready to refurnish her entire flat after attending the fair, although how she was going to finance it was quite a different story! 

www.lapada.org


Written by Eva Stock. Eva is Director of Sponsors Relations at FOCUS.

For more information about FOCUS visit:  www.focus-info.org