Buying at Art and Antiques Fairs

The visitor to Britain will be amazed by the bewildering number of art and antiques fairs and collectors fairs that take place - it seems that there is at least one on every day of the year except for Christmas Day. Many are one-day events held in village halls and community centres with rows of trestle tables with 'collectibles' and bric-a-brac, some of which may have been made quite recently. Such events may not have any quality requirements or vetting procedures but they can nevertheless be fun to visit and you may find something that appeals to you even though it is not a real 'antique'. Serious collectors will do better to visit the multi-day events organised by professionals who expect a standard from their exhibitors. For the visitor who may not have time to visit shops or galleries, good art and antiques fairs offer under one roof dealers in varying disciplines ranging from period furniture to jewellery. You therefore have the opportunity to examine a wide variety of antiques and compare examples of the items you are looking for, as well as being able to discuss them with the dealers, many of whom are authorities in their own particular fields. Only the knowledgeable and energetic should tackle the giant events that take place several times a year at Newark and Ardingly where up to 4000 dealers can be found!

Important fairs will have different criteria as to datelines, vetting and quality. The lack of datelines should not be seen as a negative as some of Britain's best fairs, including The Grosvenor House Art and Antiques Fair and The LAPADA Fairs, do not have datelines as their organisers believe that quality and authenticity are more important than date, but they do not allow reproductions. Vetting is a procedure whereby every item displayed at a fair is examined by a team of experts in the field to ensure that they are genuine and accurately described. This should give you added confidence when buying, in the same way that you can have confidence when buying from any dealer who is a member of a professional association such as LAPADA. You should always be given an invoice with a proper description of the items you have bought, whether at a fair or at a shop or gallery.