Palm Beach ArtsPaper staff
This Presidents Day weekend, more than 160 exhibitors will descend on West Palm Beach, bringing with them the best in art, antiques and jewelry from all over the world, attracting tens of thousands of private collectors, museum curators, investors and interior designers.
The 12th annual Palm Beach Jewelry, Art and Antique Show will assemble from Friday through Feb. 17 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.
“This is the only show dealing with art, antiques and jewelry in the country, and the largest vetted show in the United States,” says the fair’s aptly named organizer and founder, Scott Diament of Palm Beach Show Group.
“We’ve got everything from decorative arts, arms and armor to Tiffany lamps, Old Master paintings, jewelry, tapestries and porcelains,” Diament says. “We have fine arts from 2,000 years ago across all cultures and more than $2 billion worth of valuables.”
With jewelry coming from Fred Leighton jewelers and Richter’s of Palm Beach, Diament is justified in saying the show will have “the best of the best.”
But he’s also quick to point out that not everything is exclusive to Palm Beach and Naples millionaires.
“Many items are affordable, and anyone can take home a valuable piece of porcelain, a small piece of jewelry or antique glass for $200-300,” says Diament.
“We have some of the world’s treasures right here in Palm Beach County, coveted by kings across the world. Where else can you experience all the world’s treasures all at one time and all in one place?” Diament asks rhetorically. “We present the whole range of good, better, best.”
One of the best is the Chinese export porcelain by British antique dealers Cohen & Cohen, whose pieces have been displayed in world museum’s including The British Museum, The Groeninger Museum, The Peabody Essex Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Coming from London to Palm Beach with Michael Cohen, and then on to Maastricht in the Netherlands for one of the biggest and most prestigious fairs, are three of his prized examples of top-quality porcelains.
They include a rare 13-inch-high enamel vase, circa 1730 from the Yongzheng period; a tureen, cover and stand, circa 1740 from the Qianlong period; and a rare porcelain figure of a woman, dating from 1740, dressed in the costume of the Jewish community in 16th-century Frankfurt.
“The vase is of fantastic quality,” Cohen says. “One of the best we’ve ever had. The tureen is extremely rare, modeled after a European baroque silver form. It’s decorated in famille rose enamels, with scrolling flowers and foliage – truly exquisite.”
A highlight of the weekend is the designer’s showcase, curated by Campion Platt, with designers such as Lars Bolander, Jennifer Garrigues, Suzanne Kasler, Bill and Phyllis Taylor, and Gil Walsh, who will create vignettes designed to showcase how the art and antiques can be integrated into interior design motifs.
Walsh, of Gil Walsh Interiors in Palm Beach, works in collaboration with Aerin Lauder, who in addition to her cosmetics line, has a line of home décor, furniture and textiles.
“We’re creating an interior inspired by Aerin’s love of 1930-1940s décor and design,” says Walsh from her office in Palm Beach.
“We’re working with the dealers to select items in the art deco style of renowned French designer Raymond Subes, Serge Roche and French furniture designer Jules Leleu, as well as items from Maison Jansen, the first major global design firm in France,” says Walsh.
“We’re mixing these vintage pieces with contemporary art by Helen Frankenthaler and abstract expressionist artist Vivian Springford; even an Andy Warhol,” she adds.
One of the dramatic highlights in the set is an 18th-century Italian crystal chandelier with lavender and topaz accents modeled after Lauder’s own chandelier, “The Heather.”
On Saturday, Feb. 14, Carolyn Englefield, interiors editor of Veranda magazine and author of Veranda: A Passion for Living, will host a panel discussion with the designers followed by book signings.
The following day, Cohen, who is the chairman of the British Antique Dealers Association (BADA), will give a talk called “Forty Years of Dealing: My Top 30,” detailing his most memorable and favorite objets d’art over his 40-year career.
He says he has high hopes for this year’s fair, and expects many American customers from the East Coast, Chicago and California.
“Scott Diament has transformed the Jewelry Art and Antique Fair into the only major art, antique and jewelry show in Palm Beach,” says Cohen. “He has a true passion for what he does and is determined to have the best show in Palm Beach. We are happy to participate in it and I have great admiration for his accomplishment.”
IF YOU GO
The Palm Beach Jewelry, Art and Antique Show runs from Feb. 13-17 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. It opens Friday, Feb. 13, with an opening-night preview party from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., and then is open each day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. except for Tuesday, when it is open until 6 p.m.
Tickets for opening night are $100; general admission is $20 for Saturday through Tuesday, and is valid for all four days. For more information, please visit palmbeachshow.com or call 561-822-5440.