Northern Antiques Fair set for autumn return

This year’s Northern Antiques Fair is set to take place a couple of weeks later than usual from October 9-12 in the Garden Rooms and Cloisters at Tennants in North Yorkshire.

The popular fair, now in its fifth year at Tennants, last year welcomed some 2,200 visitors over its four days, attracted by the mix of antique and contemporary works of art the fair showcases period furniture, oil and watercolour paintings, glass, sculpture, clocks, silver, jewellery, ceramics, rugs, maps and a wealth of decorative items. 

New faces include Jeroen Markies Art Deco, Elm Hill Eclectic, Morgan Strickland Decorative Arts and Mark Rowles Fine Art.  Prices range from a few hundred pounds to five figure sums.

A few highlights around the fair include an oil painting entitled ‘The Line of the Dunes’ by Edward Seago (1910-1974), one of the UK’s finest 20th century Impressionist painters, price £68,500 from Burlington, an extremely rare 8-day mantel chronometer by Mercer dating from 1930, price £16,500 from Frodsham Clocks and a watercolour of an Anglesey cottage by the renowned Welsh landscape painter, Sir Kyffin Williams (1918-2006) from Mark Rowles Fine Art, price £9,500. 

Probably one of the oldest antiques in the fair is one of the earliest maps of the whole country of Ireland by the famous map maker Abraham Ortelius who was the first cartographer to issue an Atlas of Maps of the known world.  This map is from a 1590 edition with attractive 16th century hand colour.  An interesting detail is that the map is orientated with west at the top and not north, price £1,675 from J Dickinson Maps and Prints.   

Items with a Yorkshire provenance are always popular and this year Blackbrook Gallery is bringing an oil entitled ‘Three Prize Pigs’ inscribed ‘These three pigs took first prize at Birmingham in 1860.  Bred by Sir George Wombwell and sold for £39’, price £11,500.  Sir George Wombwell, 4th baronet from Newburgh Priory, Coxwold, North Yorkshire fought in the Crimean War and took part in the Charge of the Light Brigade.   Whitby, a seaside town and port has been a longtime favourite spot for artists, and Ellis Fine Arts has an interesting Victorian oil entitled ‘Whitby’ by Henry Redmore (1820-1887), price £5,950. He was a notable marine artist and many examples of his work can be found in the Ferens Gallery in Hull. For something more contemporary, Glass of All Ages is exhibiting two limited edition bowls by Gillies Jones who blows glass in Rosedale Abbey, Pickering.   

An exciting new stand this year is Jeroen Markies Art Deco, specialists in original Art Deco furniture and decorative arts from Forest Row, East Sussex.  Their stand is designed as a room set cleverly capturing that period which is much sought after today by interior decorators.  Mid century armchairs, Waring and Gillows sideboards, sofas, sculpture, glass, mirrors, clocks and paintings are all on offer.  A further selection of 20th century design objects can be found with Solo Antiques, Hickmet Fine Arts and Morgan Strickland Decorative Arts.  For something more traditional, Mark Buckley Antiques has an excellent example of a Victorian burr walnut and amboyna mounted centre table, price £12,950.   

The prestigious event is also a haven for serious collectors, be it British pottery and porcelain from David Scriven Antiques, 19th and 20th century decorative glass from Alderney & Wright, Scandinavian jewellery from Dansk Silver or decorative antiques from the different eras of Spain’s rich history from Hispanic Antiques. 

Rastall Art, who are fairly new to the fairs circuit, is bringing a fascinating collection of works by Northern Industrial artist William Ralph Turner (1921-2013) including ‘Stockport Steps’, 1972, price £4,950.  Turner was born in Charlton on Medlock, Manchester and was known to Lowry who visited his exhibitions at the Tib Lane Gallery in Manchester in the 1950s and 60s. He was a keen cyclist and would paint from memory the North West and surrounding areas.  He painted thousands of pictures including several hundred of Stockport Viaduct. He was featured in a major book about Northern artists by artist and critic Peter Davies in 1989.  Then in 2000 he was ‘rediscovered’ by David Gunning, an art dealer from Manchester when Turner was 80.  He has since become known as one of the last authentic Northern Industrial artists. Carnes Fine Art are bringing ‘Lowry in his studio’ by Harold Riley (1934-2023) who enjoyed a lifelong friendship with Lowry which began when Riley was a student, price £10,000.     

Quirky items include a Grand Tour Italian variegated marble obelisk on metal base, c.1860, price £1,950 from The Antiques Bazaar, a Persian Qashqai saddle bag from the Oriental Rug Shop and, for all those dog lovers out there, a silver Elizabeth II West Highland terrier, price £995 from Highland Antiques. 

The fair has a very loyal following with the majority of exhibitors returning year on year including Howards Jewellers of Stratford upon Avon. Anyone celebrating an anniversary this year should make a bee-line to their stand. Lots more choice is available with Billy Rae, S. Greenstein & Co Ltd, Howell 1870, Markov and Shapiro & Co.