Antiques in Viterbo

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The annual  Viterbo  antiques  fair held during the month of October   saw a  number of new exhibitors and  interesting objects . Unfortunately the Antiques Fair is  lost some of its prestige now that it is held in a modern commercial setting on the far outskirts of the city , a far cry from the prestigious setting of the  ancient  Papal Palace , that it had in the early years 1968-1980.

 Newcomers include a Belgian  dealer, Galerie Butterfly  of Brussels, who deals in ivory , jade and other  semi precious stone sculptures, similar to those  conserved at the Guimont Oriental Museum in Paris.

 A Roman dealer, Andrea Guarnieri with an historic shop on Via dei Banchi Vecchi,   offered several impressive   18th century   portraits: one of   a Grand Tour  dandy  close to the schools of  Godfrey Kneller or Pompeo Batoni  and an oval  portrait of a lady  attributed to Peter Lely.

Presepe figures and several portraits of  Pope Pius IX adorned the stand of  Rome dealer, Farnese Arte

A Belgian dealer, Hubert Antiques  presented a  set of 6 armchairs upholstered with a  blue velvet “cancello” textile

From Florence  Il Mercante Antiques of Aldo Alberghini showed   a set of large sculpted mirror frames .

Umbrian dealer, Mario Contili  stopped the show with a Danish portrait  of a couple by Helsted Axel Theophilus  (1884) and a lovely Austrian secretaire selling at 7,300 euro.  

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