The unmissable Northern Antiques Fair, brimming with creative ideas, inspiration and fascinating works of art from all periods of history, is returning for the third year to The Garden Rooms at Tennants, Harmby Road, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 5SG from Thursday 28 September to Sunday 1 October 2023.
Presenting a wonderful mix of antique and contemporary works of art from the UK’s leading antiques and fine art dealers – selling period furniture, oil and watercolour paintings, glass, sculpture, clocks, silver, jewellery, ceramics, rugs and a wealth of decorative items, this event offers the ideal opportunity to catch up with family and friends as well as renewing or making new contacts with the dealers. Prices range from a few hundred pounds to five figure sums.
The fair brings together some 40 exhibitors with a sprinkling of new faces including Bink Fine Art from the Cotswolds who handle works from the Impressionist era through to Modern British along with a little contemporary, Frodsham Clocks owned by Simon Frodsham, a great-great great-grandson of the famous clockmaker William James Frodsham who established his firm in 1801 and McBain & Byrne from Co Durham showing a Regency period rosewood credenza in untouched country house condition and an exceptional George IV penwork games table, c1825. Rupert McBain is both a furniture designer and dealer in English and Irish antique furniture.
Participants local to Yorkshire and the north include Carnes Fine Art – Lancashire, Ellis Fine Art – Tadcaster, Graham Reed – Ripon, Graham Ruddock – Barnard Castle, Hispanic Antiques – Sheffield, Howell 1870 – Lancashire, Mark Buckley Antiques – Keighly, McBain & Byrne – Co Durham, Solo Antiques – Lancashire, Studiotic – West Yorkshire.
An intriguing and extremely rare piece of history is a large and very detailed map/plan of the City of Durham, published by Thomas Foster in 1754, which will be the centrepiece on J Dickinson Map & Prints stand. Only a handful of copies are known to exist and originally they were dedicated to the ecclesiastical and political dignitaries of the City, £2,650.
For collectors of local views there is a charming oil on panel of Whitby Harbour by James Watson, a member of the Staithes Group (1851-1936), for sale with Reed Fine Art for £3,250 and a watercolour of the River Esk, North Yorkshire by Harold Sutton Palmer (1854-1933), £3,750 from Gladwells Rutland.
The fair showcases paintings from all genres including ‘Morning Sunshine’ by Herbert Davis Richter (1874-1955) with Burlington, in the £5,000-10,000 region, ‘Place de la Republique, Paris’ by Edouard Cortes (1862-1969), known as the ‘Parisian poet’, £32,500 from Carnes Fine Art, ‘The White Cliffs’ by Mary Fedden (1915-2012) from new exhibitor Bink Fine Art (in region of £7,500) and from Blackbrook Gallery, specialists in 19th century naïve animal paintings, is an oil on canvas ‘Yeoman farmer with his horse Fanny and his dog Ruller’, inscribed ‘Mr Sam Flower, July 7 1848’, signed W Malbon, £6,950.
As well as flat art there is a good selection of sculpture including a bronze of a standing otter by contemporary sculptor Simon Gudgeon, £14,500 from Gladwells Rutland. An interesting connection is that Yorkshire Wildlife Park is celebrating the birth of surprise otter triplets making it home to nine giant otters which is the most in a single zoo or wildlife park globally. Specialists in 19th century sculpture Garret & Hurst Sculpture is bringing ‘The Bather’ 1887 by Gaston Leroux (1854-1942), £3,675.
Among the selection of antique Chinese ceramics and works of art from Drove House Antiques is a small plate from the Kangxi period c1700-1720 finely painted with delicate decoration of flowers and insects, £950. Another area of their expertise is antique Parian busts and figures and this is represented by a fine Copeland Parian bust of Ophelia sculpted by W Calder Marshall for the Crystal Palace Art Union c1860-70, £395. Lovely pieces of antique porcelain include a fine Worcester cup and saucer painted with flowers, sprigs and butterflies within puce rococo scrolled borders containing sunburst motifs, c1758 from Graham Ruddock, £1,450.
There is sparkle around every corner of the fair for unusual and stunning pieces of jewellery including a Victorian serpent necklace set with emeralds c1860 from Howards Jewellers, or for a more contemporary look, an 18 carat yellow gold panther pendant by Carrera y Carrera, c1995, £3,250 from The Antiques Bazaar. More choice is available from Billy Rae, Dansk Silver by Jane Burgett, Greenstein Antiques, Howell 1870, Markov, T Robert and Shapiro & Co.
The fun of the fair is being captivated by objects which catch the eye and there is plenty of scope from the many general antiques stands such as a Mouseman piece from Ptarmigan Antiques, an iconic Art Deco patinated bronze figure of a dancer by Pierre le Fagyuays, £5,995 from Solo Antiques, a superb Art Nouveau wine cooler from Studiotic, a set of silver-gilt and plaque-a-jour spoons by Norwegian goldsmith Marius Hammer, £1,695 from The Antiques Bazaar, a Parkinson & Frodsham mahogany-cased 8-day table clock £4,500 from Frodsham Clocks or a stunning etching by Pablo Picasso from the Vollard Suite titled ‘Le Repos du Sculpteur devant un Centaure et une Femme’, 1933, signed in pencil by Picasso, £12,000 from Hispanic Antiques.
This prestigious antiques fair has been running since 1951, firstly in Harrogate and for the last two years at The Garden Rooms and Cloisters at Tennants in Leyburn in the heart of Wensleydale. The Garden Rooms provide a very light, airy and modern setting complimented by the exhibitors maintaining a high standard of stand design. There is ample parking for everyone and enhancing the visit to the fair is the popular café, bar, bistro and gift shop.
The fair’s charity partner this year is RABI, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution.
