There was a good crowd at the preview party on the evening of November 12, and many of the 235 exhibitors reported not just keen interest but a deal of buying, particularly for smaller objects.
Among the many sales enjoyed that night by Perthshire Arts and Crafts specialists Decorative Arts @ Doune was this 51/2in (14cm) diameter silver bowl set with amethysts by Sybil Dunlop, London 1922. With a ticket price of £2950, it sold to a Scottish museum.
Although this is the smart, traditional Olympia fair, it was the fashionable mid-20th century furniture which was selling most spectacularly on the opening evening with more selective buying of period furniture.
• THE BADA and LAPADA Best Stand Awards at the Winter Fine Art & Antiques Fair have been awarded as follows:
Winner of the BADA award was Beedham Antiques from Hungerford, and joint runners-up were Edward Hurst from Wiltshire and John Howard from Woodstock.
The LAPADA award went to Compton House from Leicester. The joint runners-up were Trinity House Fine Art of Broadway, Worcestershire and Peta Smyth Antique Textiles from Pimlico, London.
Olympia gets off to a good start
OLYMPIA’s Winter Fine Art & Antiques Fair, which closed on November 18 is the premier pre-Christmas fixture in London. This 15th annual staging proved no exception and, as usual, it got off to a strong start.