Maastricht Becomes the World’s Capital City of Art and Antiques*

By Enrique Sancho

For refined people only. This should be the sign to be read at the entrance of The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) opening its doors as of March 16 at the Maastricht Exhibition and Congress Center (MECC), and celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. More than 30,000 works of art showing 7,000 years of history, from the classic antiquity to the 21st century, will be on display. Actually, only a few refined and wealthy people could afford flirting with the masterpieces offered for sale; from a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci to paintings by Rembrahdt and Rubens, by Picasso and Miró.

Just mentioning a few of the hundreds of paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, classic antiques, enlightening manuscripts, jewels, textiles, porcelain, glass and silver pieces and other objects of art showcased by more than 260 prestigious dealers and collectors from 16 countries at what has unquestionably come to be the most important annual gathering for antique and modern art lovers. The overall value of the pieces for sale tops 2,000 million Euros. Only five Spanish exhibitors were selected to attend this year’s TEFAT: Caylus Gallery, Coll & Cortés, Deborah Elvira, López de Aragón and Artur Ramon Art.

Visiting TEFAF Maastricht has become a must for any devoted museum curator or director wishing to keep abreast with what is going on in the world of arts. This year, representatives of more than 180 museums from 20 countries are expected to attend the event. Leading art collectors are also drawn to the fair, where, estimates say, 70 percent of the Old Masters paintings for sale in this select circuit are concentrated. Given its exclusive character, its organizers have decided to increase the tickets’ price (55 Euros) to accomplish one of its biggest goals: bring the number of visitors down! Still, more than 80,000 privileged ones are expected to assist at TEFAF this year.

Certainly, every work put out for sale is carefully verified for authenticity, quality and condition by a team of experts that make sure that collectors can buy safely.  The verifications for authenticity and quality are performed by 29 vetting committees made up of about 175 renowned experts. When a piece does not meet their strict standards, it is removed from the fair and locked in a storage place until the event is over. In addition, TEFAF Maastricht was the first fair to introduce the Art Loss Register in 2000. The ALR checks for stolen objects in the list of works on display. All stolen objects are immediately removed from the fair.

*Excerpt from the original promotional text