PETWORTH.- The Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair takes place this year from Friday 10 to Sunday 12 May 2019 in the Lancelot 'Capability' Brown landscaped grounds of the National Trust's Petworth House in Petworth, West Sussex. The market town of Petworth is already gearing up for the influx of visitors to this popular annual event. The fair is a delight for interior designers seeking inspiration for the home and there are a number of notable items for collectors with art and antiques spanning the centuries from the ancient to the contemporary.

Organiser Ingrid Nilson from The Antiques Dealers Fair Limited said, "We are most grateful to Lord Egremont, who has agreed to open this year's fair on Friday 10th May. The past four fairs have successfully enticed people from as far away as Scotland and even Europe and the USA to visit. Of course, the added bonus is the fact that antiques fair ticket holders can also see all that Petworth House & Park has to offer, free-of-charge. In return, we offer complimentary access to our fair to National Trust members and Petworth House visitors."

Amongst the 60 exhibitors are a number of newcomers: The Antique Enamel Company brings an impressive gold and enamel clam-shaped watch box, signed J Rossel & Fils and JF Bautte & Cie, the long-established watch manufacturer from Geneva, c.1850, selling for £14,000, as well as Diana the Huntress with her dogs on a Viennese rock crystal dish depicting, c.1880, £8,000. The dogs are set with rubies and Diana has sapphires. Art Nouveau and Art Deco glass specialist M&D Moir is showing a selection of art glass from names like René Lalique, Daum Nancy and Emile Gallé, as well as the Scottish glass designs by Monart.

Fine antique furniture is provided by newcomer Mark Buckley Antiques from West Yorkshire, as well as returning furniture specialist Freshfords Fine Antiques with a George II period mahogany clothes press, attributed to the English cabinet maker Giles Grendey, c.1745, priced at £14,500. An unusual piece on the stand is a mid-19th century Victorian rosewood cabinet containing 32 exotic birds, preserved and mounted in a naturalistic setting with reeds and rocks in the manner of English taxidermist Henry Ward (1812-1878), c.1860, £3,450. With the current revival of interest in 'brown' furniture, there is plenty of choice. Walton House Antiques returns with an impressive pair of George III satinwood and purple heart banded bonheur-du-jours with kingwood cross banding, c.1790, at an asking price of £9,750; Tim Saltwell with a late George IV Davenport in richly figured walnut, stamped ’T Willson 68 Great Queens Street London’, c.1830, £3,650; Wilsons Antiques with Anglo Indian padauk wall shelves, which can also stand on the floor or a base, c. 1875, £425 and from Guy Dennler Antiques a George III mahogany drum table, c 1800, £9,750.

Not forgetting outside the home, Vagabond presents a selection of items to enhance gardens and exteriors. Amongst these is a rare set of eight Italian composite marble Borghese urns on plinths, £18,500 the set. Sourced from a Sussex country house, it is quite rare to find a pair of urns as grand as these, let alone a set of eight.

There is some impressive jewellery for sale from a number of specialists, including a vintage Cartier Burmese ruby and diamond crossover Toi et Moi platinum ring from the fifties, priced at £21,500 and an eighties' emerald and diamond ring, £14,500 both from first time exhibitor Plaza. Another jewellery dealer joining the fair for the first time is Greenstein Antiques, from Grays in London, bringing a sapphire, ruby and diamond turtle pendant set in 18 carat yellow gold, c. 2015, £2,950 and a 21st century fancy yellow diamond bangle set in 18 carat yellow and white gold, made in New York, £8,950, as well as another impressive emerald and diamond ring, however, this one is an Art Deco version selling for £5,950. For those who appreciate Art Nouveau, Morgan Strickland Decorative Arts has a large Art Nouveau 15 carat gold and turquoise pendant by Murrle Bennett, c.1900, with a price tag of £1,850.

Other returning exhibitors include Haynes Fine Art - London & Cotswolds with a remarkable selection of art by names such as Ivon Hitchens, Andy Warhol and Mary Fedden OBE including Moonlit Lake, an oil by one of the most renowned artists of the Victorian era, John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836 - 1893), with a price tag of £119,000. In contrast, Petworth and London based Rountree Tryon Galleries celebrates both the ancient and the contemporary with two Egyptian beaded mummy masks comprising faience multi-coloured glazed composition beads, c.664-332 BC, £1,200 and Emily Lamb's sizeable oil on canvas, Sunlit Lion measuring 120cm x 200cm and priced at £11,500. In addition, Rountree Tryon Galleries plans a wall of Sussex inspired scenes. A variety of artists' work can also be found on fellow local gallery, Ottocento's stand, including A decorative design with Daphne by Bloomsbury artist Duncan Grant (18851978), £8.100, botanical watercolours by Evelyn de Morgan (1855-1919), a pencil drawing by Lord Frederic Leighton (1830 – 1896), gifted to his cousin, and oils by William Malherbe (1884-1955). Colombes du l’été is an oil on canvas laid down on board by French artist F Huet, £15,000. Painted in July 1920, there are both Art Nouveau and Art Deco elements in the composition and the handling of the colour is truly exceptional; Huet has cleverly managed to convey the heat of a summer’s day. Moncrieff-Bray Gallery, Cambridge Fine Art and Sarah Colegrave Fine Art have a good selection of contemporary to Victorian landscape paintings featuring Petworth, Sussex and beyond.

Sarah Colegrave Fine Art is showing a group of wildlife drawings by founder member of the Society of Wildlife Artists, Eileen Soper RMS SWLA (1905-1990), etcher and illustrator of children's and wildlife books, including Enid Blyton's Famous Five. She was artistically trained by her father, the noted illustrator and etcher, George Soper. At the age of only 15 years, two of her etchings were shown in the Royal Academy in London, after which she showed three prints at an exhibition organised by the International Society of Printmakers in California. Queen Mary bought two of her etchings and her work became extremely popular and exhibited in the UK and USA. This collection of drawings and watercolours for sale came from the artist's estate and those that are not framed are presented in plain conservation mounts with prices starting from around £85.

Local Petworth residents may be particularly interested to see the paintings on show with John Robertson. He is devoting his stand to the work of former Petworth resident John Heseltine (1923-2016), his American born wife Pam Masco (1953-2018) and their friend Fred Laurent from Graffham, who were all painters and commercial illustrators employed by publications to bring their stories to life. Many of the early works were never returned to the artists, but were destroyed. John Robertson has the only known large collection for sale, which he acquired directly from the artists. In 1969, Heseltine was commissioned by IPC (International Publishing Corporation) to illustrate the investiture of HRH The Prince of Wales and painted portraits of HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of York. Amongst the illustrations for sale is The Tuesday Night Club, John Heseltine's original signed acrylic painting to illustrate the Agatha Christie story, priced at £1,200. Other originals start at around £400.

Continuing on the theme of illustrations, Art of the Imagination specialises in selling original illustrations that have graced the pages of many a literary tome. It also has its own publishing company, Books Illustrated, and has successfully produced a fine selection of classics like The Wind In The Willows (sold out), The Jungle Book, Wuthering Heights, A Christmas Carol and A Midsummer Night's Dream with the emphasis on the illustrations commissioned from some fine contemporary illustrators, with whom they have worked over the years. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is the next publication to be launched later this year with illustrations by Christian Birmingham. There is an opportunity to buy some of the original pastel drawings like The Mad Hatter's Tea Party and "I'm late!" each priced at £3,950 at The Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair. Art of the Imagination also sells contemporary sculpture and often has bronze characters from the books they have published for sale.

Other bronze sculptures can be found with Garret & Hurst Sculpture, amongst which are contemporary works, as well as an Art Deco Pierrot et Columbine by Thomas Cartier (1879-1943), French, bronze, 30cm high, c.1925, £4,950 and a 19th century Heron by Jules Moigniez (1835-1894), c.1870, £7,950. Art Deco bronzes of nudes can be found on Solo Antiques' stand and Hickmet Fine Arts has a good selection too, including Cheval Turc No.2 Antérieur Droit Levé, Terasse Ovale by Antoine-Louis Barye (1795-1875), c.1850, POA. Amongst the selection of contemporary sculpture from Moncrieff-Bray Gallery is Hen and Chicks by Helen Denerley, whose clever use of scrap metal is inspiring, £3,950 for the hen with all three chicks.

Both decorative and functional, clocks add life to a room and come in many guises from a hooded oak wall clock made by Easton of Petworth, c.1790, POA from Olde Time; a Modernist brass and enamel clock by Jaeger le Coultre, c.1905, £1,200 from Morgan Strickland Decorative Arts to an equestrian themed clock by Japy Frères comprising various tack, including a horseshoe, stirrup, bit, bridle chain, buckles and spur , c.1890, £2,600 from Hatchwell Antiques. BBC Antiques Roadshow horological expert Richard Price is bringing a French porcelain mounted ormolu mantel clock with movement by Japy Frères, c.1875, £2,975 and an Arts & Crafts style decorated blue and white porcelain panelled carriage clock, c.1890, £3,950.

The ‘look’ of the fair is always cleverly defined by the dealers, who go to great lengths to create room sets in order to give visitors ideas and inspiration on how to display items at home, often using a combination of antique and contemporary pieces. Augustus Brandt is bringing items with a strong decorative look such as a 1950’s French ebonised and painted games table, £1,750 and a Brutalist brass mirror with applied abstract decoration by Lugano Frigerio, Italy, c 1970, £2,950.

There is an abundance of antique and modern silver on offer from J H Bourdon-Smith Ltd and Stephen Kalms Antiques and as well as silver jewellery with a few standout gold pieces from Dansk Silver by Jane Burgett. Glass from differing eras and for a variety of uses can be found from Mark J West with a massive blue glass decanter in the form of a bird on a nest from Belgium/low countries, c.1870, £1,250; Fileman Antiques, M&D Moir, Hickmet Fine Arts, Solo Antiques and Markov. Markov is showing a rare glass vase from the Schneider glass factory's Ecaille series, signed, French, c.1926, £2,000 as well as contemporary coloured glass vessels by multi award winning Alice Heaton (b.1993), whose prices range from £80 to £680.

The fair provides a wonderful day out with so much to experience from Petworth House and all its treasures, the ‘Capability’ Brown landscaped gardens and light refreshments in the fair’s marquee or the restaurants, pubs, cafés and other shops in the town, all of which can be easily enjoyed, as a courtesy shuttle runs between the antiques fair and the centre of Petworth. Larger purchases at the fair can be safely packaged and delivered locally, round the country or abroad by Bridgefields.