Exhibitors Brought Their Best to This Year’s TEFAF Fair

Since 1988, the European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF) has showcased art, jewelry, antiques and design each year at its rigorously vetted fairs. Its latest edition in Maastricht, The Netherlands, which took place in March, featured 270 exhibitors from 20 countries and included 18 estate and antique jewelry booths — one more than in 2022.

“TEFAF is where museums bring curators and donors to shop,” say exhibitors Didier and Martine Haspeslagh, co-owners of UK gallery Didier. This has translated to museum sales for the London-based business, which deals in pre-owned jewels by 20th- and 21st-century artists and architects.

“The art-educated public attending TEFAF includes collectors of the highest caliber, and the contacts and sales made at TEFAF are priceless,” the couple adds.

New York dealer A la Vieille Russie has exhibited antique and estate jewelry, as well as fine art, at TEFAF Maastricht for 29 years. This year, the family-owned business showed pieces by Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Schlumberger, and artist Salvador Dalí, among others.

“We keep returning because the high quality, number and range of exhibitors continues to attract thousands of sophisticated collectors and museum professionals from across the globe,” says A la Vieille Russie co-owner Mark Schaffer. “We see visitors from year to year whom we don’t see at other fairs.”

TEFAF has “always had a strong presence in antique and contemporary jewelry,” remarks Sherien Berger, the fair’s PR and communications coordinator. “Our exhibitors and team highly value our connections and clients in the jewelry space, to ensure our fairs continue to thrive and grow.”

Image: A salesperson puts a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace out on display. (Van Cleef & Arpels)