TEFAF, Take Two: Skulls, Artists' Jewelry, and Great Design

Hurry up, please, it's time. TEFAF favorite Kunstkammer Georg Laue's offerings included, at right, a Renaissance vanitas cabinet. Lest would-be buyers tarry, the front door of the cabinet opens to reveal a scene with a naked child leaning on a skull with an hourglass at his feet. Shoppers ranging from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to Kanye West have popped into the European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF), which runs through Sunday in the Dutch town of Maastricht. No word on Kanye's haul, but the Met scored "Virgil's Tomb in Moonlight" (1779) by Joseph Wright of Derby (a poster version is yours for $19.99), Ronald Lauder picked up Picasso's "Homme au Chapeau" (1964) for $8 million, and the soon-to-reopen Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has enriched its collection with works including an 1809 Nicolaas Bauer canvas and Antoine Vechte's silver "Galathea" vase, created in 1843 for a French nobleman. Meanwhile, 26-year-old TEFAF is looking eastward: the fair's organizers announced this week that they're in talks with Sotheby's to develop an art fair in China, so stay tuned for updates on “TEFAF Beijing 2014.” We've still got plenty to show from you from this year's artstravaganza in Maastricht--check out 25 more must-sees: Gagosian gallery positioned this 1946 Picasso nearby Rudolf Stingel's 2012 photo-realist painting of the artist as young man. At right, L'Arc de Seine's jaw-dropping stand featured a circa 1930 shagreen-covered desk and chair by Jean-Michel Frank. The secret to eternal youth? Multiple suitors and frequent ski trips, suggests this first edition from Shapero Rare Books. Didier Ltd's assortment of jewelry by artists included this one-of-a-kind silver brooch made by Harry Bertoia during his time at Cranbrook in the '40s. And what do you get when you combine a fishing float painted black and a gilded beer can? Louise Nevelson's 1984 pendant necklace. Easy, breezy! Josef Hoffman's Wiener Werkstatte table lamp of 1904 (at Bel Etage, Wolfgang Bauer, Vienna). At Dickinson, Rene Magritte's "Les Fleurs du Voyage" (1926), and it's not an art fair without Abstraktes Bild! This is Richter's "Fuji" (1996), at Galerie Odermatt-Vedovi. Why don't you...store your USB drives in silver sweetmeats baskets from the 1770s? (From Kunsthandel Jacques Fijnaut) Baubles by Braque: an 18-carat gold bird brooch (with an emerald eye) and a gold pendant (at Didier Ltd), and a fancy fish whose function was not immediately apparent. Sebastian + Barquet devoted its stand to stunning examples of the work of George Nakashima, including this double pedestal desk. At right, a Frank Lloyd Wright dining table and chairs (at Galerie Eric Philippe). Horse lace. "Trigger," a 2009 work by Joana Vasconcelos (at Kunsthandel Frans Jacobs) and a silver-gilt rococo toilet service from the 1750s (at Galerie Neuse). Raoul Dufy's 1935 "La Reception a l'Amiraute" (at Kunsthandel Frans Jacobs) and through the tulips, 1974 works by Donald Judd (at Gana Art). Biscuit teapots and covers from the Qing dynasty (at Jorge Welsh). Toddlers sans tiaras. At left, "A Study of a Child's Head" by Sir Anthony Van Dyck (at Johnny Van Haeften) and "Portrait of Anton Peschka Jr." by Egon Schiele (at Richard Nagy). Bull and Brillo. Among the works by Edvard Munch at Galerie Thomas was "Henrik Bull" (1939). Sperone Westwater brought "Cover" (2003), a glazed ceramic work by Bertozzi & Casoni. Last but not least, Fred Eerdkens' shadow-casting copper creation, "Not even the least will last forever" (2013), hung high at the stand of Galerie Patrick Derom. See more from TEFAF in our opening-day Photo Diary.

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TEFAF, Take Two: Skulls, Artists' Jewelry, and Great Design

Stephanie Murg

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Stephanie Murg