In celebration of their 150th year, Mallett will present an unrivalled collection of decorative arts from across the globe at TEFAF Maastricht from 13th-22nd March 2015. Privately sourced works spanning five centuries and two continents have been curated to form a unique collection of unseen and rediscovered pieces. Giles Hutchinson Smith, Managing Director at Mallett commented:

“Helping private collectors to form world-class collections has always been at the forefront of Mallett’s ethos, and we are delighted to be continuing that tradition in our 150th Anniversary year. The pieces destined for TEFAF are a testament to the exceptional eye of our team, and a celebration of Mallett’s past 150 years as the principal name in this field. It is a vision of our future, cultivating the next generation of collectors.”

 Hailing from a private collection that was meticulously formed over the last 40 years, is a pair of late George II giltwood torcheres in the manner of Thomas Johnson. Having not appeared on the market for over four decades these rare survivors set the tone for the wider collection of works on the Mallett stand.

The pair were originally housed at Mentmore Towers designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, described as one of the greatest houses of the Victorian era. The torcheres remained at Mentmore Towers in the private collection of the Rothschild family for over a century. 

Thomas Johnson (1741-1778) worked exclusively on lavish furniture that allowed him to explore and indulge all his fantasies and inspirations. In this pair we see his fascination with the east transformed into the fantastical chinoiserie figures of Johnson’s imagination.

Demonstrating the breadth of the 18th century decorative arts on offer at the Mallett stand, is a wool and silk tapestry by John Vanderbank (1694-1739). At the turn of the century, three weavers dominated the tapestry production in Soho, and by far the most whimsical, captivating and unique was Vanderbank.

As a yeoman arras-maker of the Great Wardrobe, a department of the Royal Household, Vankderbank produced a well-documented and individual series of; ‘pieces of Tapistry hangings with India figures’, as described in a 1697 inventory of Kensington Palace. This ‘Indian Manner’, the oeuvre which the Mallett tapestry belongs to, united elements from Vanderbank’s entire repertoire of ‘the exotic’ in a visually coherent whole.

Another marriage of Anglo and Indian design on the Mallett stand is a wood and ivory Vizagapatam chair. Vizagapatam, on the east coast of India, was the centre of artisan wood and ivory work. Often reminiscent of classic British style, pieces from this area are amongst the finest of the period, and survivors of this calibre are rarely seen.

Dating from around 1760, when Chippendale furniture was at the forefront of taste and fashion, this piece uses an English, probably Chippendale, design for its frame, which is then veneered with ivory decorated with Mughal and Indian iconography, inspired by painted silks and textiles. This exotic and highly desirable chair would have been commissioned as a statement piece for a well-travelled and educated gentleman of 18th century Britain. 

Bringing the Mallett collection at TEFAF into the 20th century are paintings by Modern British Artists including Christopher Wood (1901-1930). As a key player in the development of English Modernism, Wood’s work combines both naturalism and abstraction.

During the autumn of 1928 Wood was drawn to Cornwall and the purity of light in St Ives. Here many artists found the perfect setting for painting ‘en-plein-air’, and Wood found his muse for the most prolific period of his short, yet influential career.

Whilst in Cornwall, Wood painted St Ives Harbour in the company of fellow artists such as retired fisherman Alfred Wallis (1855-1942). Wallis led Wood to embrace the ideas of primitivism that became fused with his paintings, that can been seen in St Ives Harbour. In a letter to friend and artist Winifred Nicholson, Wood wrote about Cornwall saying:

“I seem to live on the edge of the world. But what a world it is, I love this place and could stay here for ever if I had those around me for whom I care…[I]t will be hard to leave it.”

TEFAF takes place at Maastricht, Netherlands from 13th – 22 March 2015. Visit Mallett website at www.mallettantiques.com