Strong Sales At TEFAF Defy Talk Of Market Downturn

That’s the headline coming out of Maastricht, Holland after one week of sales at TEFAF, the largest art and antiquities sale in the world. I’ll dole out specific significant sales throughout the day, but I just received word that the private preview, which was a fabulous people watching fest, set the tone for this year’s fair with a record 9,435 visitors, an increase of 10% on 2007. This invitation only event was not just a social gathering; a number of exhibitors, particularly in antiquities and the modern art section, reported their busiest ever opening. Trading continued at a brisk pace throughout the opening day (Friday, March 7th ) and the first weekend. The visitors figure for the first three days was 25,000 visitors, an increase of around 7 %. TEFAF continues until Sunday. Perhaps the success is due to the flowers—this year, instead of tulips, the halls were lined with spectacular displays of 175,000 anemones. That has to be as valid a qualifier as anything in the art world, right?