The Deco mood permeated all media and this is reflected in the Islington show which covers textiles, wallpaper, jewellery, glassware, ceramics and furniture at prices from around £200 up to £15,000 for a Leleu sideboard. The exhibition, however, comprises mainly smaller objects rather than furniture.
Some of the biggest names of the movement are represented, among them Christofle, Betty Joel, Louis Majorelle, Lalique and Adnet. But do not be intimidated by such big names, as much of the exhibition is eminently affordable and gives an opportunity to buy stylish pieces in an area where prices are often stratospheric.
The selection of exhibits ranges from a collection of 30 pairs of cufflinks to an entire office suite of the period, which will probably be sold piece by piece (the satin birch and walnut waste bin costs £450).
Jeff Jackson of The Antique Trader tells me he realised a long while ago that the recent Deco exhibition at the V&A would focus commercial attention on Deco works, and 15 months ago he started putting this show together in conjunction with Derbyshire dealer David Bonsall, who often collaborates with the Islington firm.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue with an introductory essay by Dan Klein, for decades a champion of Art Deco and a seminal figure in its post-1960s reappraisal.
Islington realises the Deco lover’s dream
ISLINGTON specialists in Arts and Crafts The Antique Trader move forward a few decades from November 5 to 23 for a selling exhibition of the hottest commodity of the moment, Art Deco. Called simply Art Deco, the show at The Millinery Works Gallery, 85/87 Southgate Road, London N1 brings together 180 exhibits from that period of immense creativity marked midway by the 1925 Paris exhibition of the decorative arts.
