Exhibited at current Fairs 2010

Possibly the rarest Wedgwood vase on the open market today was exhibited at the Sydney May Fair. The deep cobalt blue Jasper Ware Pegasus Vase was made circa 1790-1810. In 1778 John Flaxman Jnr, superstar sculptor of the 18th century, modelled the bas relief design on the vase, its subject widely acknowledged to be The Apotheosis of Homer. The design was inspired by an antique Calyx Krater in the collection of Sir William Hamilton, sold to the British Museum in 1772. Josiah Wedgwood presented a pale blue model of the Pegasus Vase to the British Museum in 1786, considering it to be ‘the finest and most perfect I have ever made’.(Alan Landis Antiques)

The bee is an age-old symbol of immortality, creativity and fertility. Napoleon used it to link himself to royalty that preceded his regime. A stunning vintage French bee brooch features two-colour plique-a-jour enamelled wings, with gemstones and pearls accenting anatomical features of the insect. (Martin & Stein, Sydney)

A set of three Queen Anne silver casters, marked for London in 1713, were made to the Britannia standard of 958 (95.84% of fine silver). The Britannia standard for wrought silver was introduced by William III by Act of Parliament in 1697, to discourage widespread clipping and melting of the sterling coinage which was 925 (92.5% of fine silver). Once the Britannia standard was law the ‘clippings’ were of too low a grade to pass rigorous assaying of wrought goods. (Kevin Murray Fine Silver, Melbourne)

Fine works of art include European landscape and genre paintings, as well as figural works. Australian paintings such as Arthur Boyd’s oil of the Shoalhaven River and Hans Heysen’s iconic scene of eucalypts in the landscape are examples of the excellent works exhibited. (Mackley Fine Art, Melbourne)

A French Acacia commode, circa 1750, is unusual in the choice of timber by its cabinet maker. Acacia farnesiana was introduced into southern France from the West Indies, and was valued primarily for its bark and leaves as sources of perfume. (Lauder and Howard, Fremantle, Western Australia)

A cold-painted and patinated bronze and ivory figure of a woman in Art Deco pose was executed by Otto Schmidt-Cassel (1876-1920) (Martin & Stein, Sydney)