“Due to a careful selection process combined with a very thorough
vetting system, tefaf has become one of the most important
fairs with an antiquities section worldwide,” says Jean-David
Cahn of Cahn International. His Münchenstein, Switzerland–
based gallery is bringing works spanning more than 5,000 years,
including Egyptian ceramics and a 2,000-year-old Roman
silver skyphos w i t h r e p o u s s é d e c o r a t i o n. T h i s y e a r C a h n i s j o i n e d
by 10 fellow purveyors of Classical antiquities, including London
d e a l e r R u p e r t W a c e , w h o i s o f f e r i n g a n E g y p t i a n D y n a s t y
xxii painted wooden stela, and Brussels-based
Galerie Harmakhis, which is presenting
a 4,500-year-old Sumerian
alabaster head of a deity.Ancient Art
WORKS SPANNING THE MILLENNIA
Marble Foot, Roman, A.D. 2nd–3rd century
Available from Cahn International, Münchenstein, SwitzerlandOld Masters
PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS,
AN D ILLUMINATED
MANUSCRIPTS
Sebastian Vrancx, Allegory of Winter, 1608
Available from Koetser Gallery, ZurichOld Master works have been a mainstay of
tefaf since its debut as the biennial Pictura
F i n e A r t F a i r i n 1 9 7 5. H i g h l i g h t s a t t h i s
edition include 18th-century drawings
by Tiepolo on offer from Day & Faber, and
a 17th-century Dutch Book of Hours at
the stand of Stéphane Clavreuil. Of special
interest is a suite of eight canvases by French
19th-century landscape painter Eugène
Boudin, tendered by London dealer Jonathan
Green, who believes the artist remains
undervalued. “He was a subtle, superb,
technical painter, who never disappoints.”“ Visitors to the fair are able to develop a direct
relationship with artworks because they
can touch and hold them.”
—SWISS ANTIQUITIES DEALER JEAN-DAV ID CAHN^49