TEFAF Maastricht, the world’s leading art fair, is renowned for its commitment to excellence, expertise and elegance. This is evidenced by the range and quality of rare works of art that are for sale at the Fair, which is held in the MECC from 14 – 23 March 2014.  Objects being shown at the 2014

Fair include an evocative Impressionist spring scene by Sisley; a silver soup tureen on stand commissioned by Catherine the Great: a rare photograph by Charles Nègre and a unique Tibetan màndala.

Rossi & Rossi, London is bringing an 11th century Vajradhatu mandala that is not only very rare but is also of monumental size, measuring 125 x125 cm.  A mandala, literally a circle, is a spiritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism representing the Universe and is used as an aid to mediation and as a teaching tool. This màndala represents  possibly the earliest extant painted rendition of Buddhist symbolism  and Indian conceptions,  as well as aesthetics.  It has been in a private European  collection  since the 1980s and has been extensively published.

Old Master painting,  particularly  work by Dutch and Flemish  Old Masters,  is one of the great strengths  of TEFAF Maastricht.   Koetser Gallery, Zurich is exhibiting a large elegant panel by Jan van Kessel the Elder (1626-1679) whose still-lifes are acknowledged for their vivid colour and attention to detail. Previously unknown, this painting of Tulips, roses, peonies and other flowers in a roemer is one of van  Kessel’s  largest  flower  paintings  and  can  be  dated  to the  1650s,  a period  of great  productivity  and prosperity for the artist.

Printemps à Veneux by Alfred Sisley (1839-1899), which is being shown by Richard Green, London, reflects the artist’s delight in a new season and a new location, and the painting exudes vitality and joy.  The painting brilliantly combines strong composition with a complex handling of paint that expresses the energy of spring. Sisley was the only Impressionist  to paint landscapes  almost exclusively;  his chief interest was in trying to represent  the mood and atmosphere  of nature, producing  studies of the changes in colour, which different seasons brought to a particular scene.

Known as much for being a pictorial satirist and credited with pioneering Western sequential art as much as for his painting, William Hogarth (1697-1764) was one of the most popular and influential British artists of the 18th  century.     The Fine Art Society,  London  is bringing  a version  of Hogarth’s  Beggar’s  Opera II, dated 1728, to TEFAF.  It has been in private hands since the 18th century  and has not previously  been on the market.  This is a major work by the artist and is expected to arouse a great deal of interest from both private and institutional collectors.

Totentanz der Mary Wigman, 1926/28, is an extraordinarily strong and vivid painting by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938)   of  the  pioneer  of  Expressionist   dance,  Mary  Wigman,  which  has  been  widely  exhibited throughout  its history  and is being brought  to TEFAF  by Galerie  Henze  & Ketterer,  Bern and Basel.   In contrast to the strong colour and dramatic lines of the Kirchner, is a small but delightful monochromatic  work by Max Ernst (1891-1976), depicting a bird in a cage with total simplicity of line, which will be exhibited on the stand of Galerie Berès, Paris.

Work by close friend and associate of Max Ernst’s, Jean (Hans) Arp (1887-1966) can be found on the stand of Marlborough  Fine Art, London. The bronze sculpture, Metamorphosis  (Shell – Swan- Swing) 1935 was exhibited in the seminal exhibition of Arp’s work at MoMA in 1958.  Arp made the transition from wooden wall reliefs  of the 1920s  to freestanding  sculpture  in about  1930  – the present  piece  is well known  within  his oeuvre.   Sculpture  can also be seen on the stand of Landau  Fine Art, Montreal,  which will be exhibiting Family Group, a bronze created by Henry Moore (1898-1986) in 1947.

Senger Bamberg Kunsthandel, Bamberg specialises in early European works of art and this year is bringing an exquisite early triptych of the Holy Family made in Brussels in the late 15th  century by the Master of the Barbara Legend.  The central panel depicts the Holy Family. On the right there is an image of St. James with the benefactress and on the left the benefactor kneels before another saint.  The triptych was formerly in the collection of Baron of Thüngen, Rossbach Castle. A soup tureen on stand from the magnificent Orloff service commissioned  by  Catherine  the  Great  (1729-1796)  from  Jacques  Nicolas  Roettiers  and  given  to  Count Gregori Orloff (1734-1783) is being offered for sale by Koopman Rare Art, London.

Photography  is a specialism  that  has  been  growing  in importance  at TEFAF  in recent  years.    Dealer  in important  early  photographic   works,  Hans  P  Kraus  Jr.  Fine  Photographs,   New  York  is  showing  a compositionally  strong work entitled Le tailleur de pierre by Charles Nègre (1820-1880).   Nègre trained as a painter and applied  the sense of formal arrangement  and composition  that he had learned  in the painting studio to the medium of photography.   Despite its instantaneous  appearance,  this is a posed picture made with a three second exposure. Galleri K, Oslo will be showing large scale work by Andreas Gursky including Mayday  IV  2000,  a C-print  from  an  edition  of 6, 208  x 508  cm.   Gursky’s  work  sets  forth  an  image  of contemporary  reality  by  embracing  the  persuasiveness  of  advertising  at  the  same  time  as  paying  acute attention to the strictures of documentary photography.

In TEFAF Haute Joallerie jeweller Gianmaria Buccellati is bringing a contemporary tulle bracelet made from yellow gold and diamonds entitled Ducale.   The bracelet is inspired by the Doge’s Palace, facing the Piazza San Marco in Venice  - the texture is soft, the lines of its design are light and the floral motifs of the palace’s façade are reproduced  all along the band in yellow gold, set with brilliant-cut diamonds and enhanced by a contour of leaves.

Landau Fine Art - Family Group, Henry Moore (Castleford 1898-1986 Much Hadham), bronze, 61 x 27.9 x 14.9 cm, edition 7, England, 1947

Senger Bamberg Kunsthandel - The Holy Family, Master of the Barbara Legend, Triptych, oil on wood, 71.5 x 59 x 111.5 x 18 cm, Brussels 1470-1500

David Koetser Gallery - Flower stil life, Jan van Kessel the Elder (Antwerp 1626-1679), oil on panel 51.9 x 37 cm Signed in full lower right 'J.V. Kessel. f‘

Richard Green - Printemps à Veneux, Alfred Sisley, oil on canvas, 72.9 x 90.7 cm, April 1880

Gianmaria Buccellati - Ducale, tulle! bracelet, Gianmaria Buccellati, yellow gold and diamonds!