Only at TEFAF More than 70,000 art lovers from all over the world visited TEFAF Maastricht this year. There were major sales from the first day to the last. Martin Clist, Director of Rossi & Rossi, said ‘we have seen important museums and individuals every day; the Fair also gives us the chance to meet up with our fellow dealers and peers and to knit up the threads of business relationships and friendships in a way that is not possible elsewhere’. In 2014 TEFAF runs from 14 to 23 March, www.tefaf.com.

Among the sales Otto Naumann reported the sale of The Birth of the Virgin, a large, vibrant work by Carlo Marrata (1625-1713), while Koetser Gallery sold Alexander and Roxanna by Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Somlo Antiques sold an exceptionally rare travel nécessaire cabinet with inset watch made by Thomas Grant of London in 1760 as a gift for the Chinese Imperial Court to a Chinese collector. At Patrick Derom Gallery, René Magritte’s Le Miroir invisible (1942) found a new owner while Van de Weghe Fine Art sold Picasso's Homme au Chapeau (1964) to the well-known collector Leonard Lauder. At Wartski, a new private collector bought an exceptional Lalique necklace made around 1905.

Museums at TEFAF
TEFAF welcomed over 220 museums. The Mauritshuis in The Hague acquired Paul Bril’s earliest known easel painting, Mountainous Landscape with Saint Jerome (1592), from Johnny Van Haeften (photo). The Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore bought a pottery figure of a hare, Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220), at Ben Janssens Oriental Art. And an unusual silver vase made for the Duke of Luynes by Antoine Vechte in 1843 was sold by J. Kugel. The piece was purchased for the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, through the generosity of a Dutch private collector. Wim Pijbes, Director of the museum, commented, ’Even the most indulged museum director will see things at TEFAF that are so unique that surprising purchases can be made’.

TEFAF Beijing Ben Janssens, Chairman of TEFAF's Executive Committee said, ‘It is gratifying that despite the economic downturn, sales, particularly for the best pieces here, have been strong. The reputation of TEFAF Maastricht as the best Fair in the world is supported by the level of business achieved here in 2013. From this very strong base we feel confident in exploring the exciting prospect of launching TEFAF Beijing in 2014’. TEFAF has entered into exclusive discussions with Sotheby’s to investigate the possibilities of developing a high-end art fair for China, by way of Sotheby’s Joint Venture in Beijing with the Chinese company GeHua in 2014.