So LAPADA Art & Antiques Fair took place the other week, and filled Berkeley Square with the most exquisite pieces of antique furniture and jewellery. I first visited Michael Wakelin & Helen Linfield’s fine antique furniture for town and country, where these very unusual Chinese paintings of fish were adorning their wall:
Most unusual Chinese paintings
We found out that it is highly unusual to find these rice paper pictures with fish as the subject – usually you will see them with all other types of animals, so it was quite a treat for us to be able to admire these ones. I did however love the following paintings very much, and wouldn’t mind having a few in my house one day:
Wakelin & Linfield Chinese Paintings
I also fell in love with the 19th century Italian oak table below, which had such a remarkable top! The description for it read:
A fine 19th century high renaissance styled oak table with a fine trompe l’oeil Pietra Dura specimen marble top
Italy c 1850 £19,500
Since Trompe l’œil as well as Pietra Dura are both new expressions to us, I thought that we could take a closer look:
19th century oak table with a fine trompe l’oeil marble top – Italy ca 1850, £19,500
I would love to have this beautiful table in a large hallway, with a lovely flower arrangement in top!
You can see in the photos above that the pattern on the table promotes a 3D effect. This is the result of the art technique Trompe l’œil (French for deceive the eye), which creates the optical illusion that the object is three dimensional.
The Trompe l’œil art form has its roots in antiquity and legend has it that the painter Zeuxis in ancient Greece painted such realistic grapes that birds descended upon them for a nibble! His fellow artist Parrhasius was so impressed and inspired by his work, that he invited Zeuxis over to judge one of his paintings a few weeks later. He showed Zeuxis into his study and urged him to take a look at the painting, which was residing behind a curtain. Zeuxis was so eager to see the painting that he immediately tried to move the curtains aside, only to find out that the curtains were in fact the painting – making Parrhasius the winner!
This beautiful 19th century high renaissance styled oak table featuring fine trompe l’oeil as well as Pietra Dura
Pietra Dura on the other hand is a term for the inlay technique of creating images by using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones. Marbles were used a lot, like on our table here – but different coloured stones along with semiprecious and even precious stones were also often used. This decorative art form has its roots in Rome in the 16th century, and it eventually reached its full maturity in Florence.
Late 18th century occasional table – England c. 1780 £4950
I also have a thing for really elegant tables, and this one was just so beautiful that I had to show it to you – the description reading:
An exceptionally fine model of a late 18th century occasional table (formerly a work table – bag now missing) the oval top, shelf and frieze in burr yew and cross banded in zebrawood. The elegantly drawn legs with ebony inlay and carved ebony roundels to the feet. England c. 1780 £4950
I just love the zebrawood details…
Another closeup of this stunning table
So if you want to see more from the Wakelin & Linfield collection you can find them just 4 miles from Petworth, just make sure that you make an appointment before you visit. You can find more information on their Wakelin & Linfield website.
Decades of Elegance 