Will the XXI russian antique salon become. A start to the past?
Russian Antique Salon — Russia’s oldest and largest antique fair — took place through October 21–29 at the Central House of Artists in Moscow for the twenty first time. This important art event once again showed participants and guests the richness of our native cultural heritage.
It’ too early to talk about commercial results and to give analytic round-ups, but its possible to tell about first impressions. On the one hand, frequenters were captivated by chamber atmosphere, and on the other — heated arguments were brought to life by Deputy Director of the Federal Culture Mass Media Supervision Agency Anatoliy Vilkov’s speech of welcome.
But first about what we’ve seen. Experts noted that participants stands acquired an accomplished state, gallery owners refused from “fair” material presenting, when the wall were covered, like with a gipsy carpet, with all the vender’s riches.
Present installments are combined, first of all, topically. So, “Albion Gallery” presented the solo-exhibition of Boris Kustodiev’s works. Here you could see unique anthology of master’s works and examples of easel painting, pencil drawings and watercolours.
At Leonid Shishkin gallery stand settled an exposition dedicated to “the most official soviet artist” Dmytriy Nalbandyann’s 100-th anniversary. The first time participant of the Russian Antique Fair — Arbat Prestige Museum — presented subject exhibition named “Russian Avant-garde Classics”, involving works of K. Malevitch, P. Filonov, M. Shagal.
Out of non-commercial it should be noted an exposition by “Three Centuries” gallery in consort with bowery-museum “Ostankino” exposition “Children in art of three centuries. XVIII — beginning of XX centuries”. The gallery has a great experience of such projects realization within the bounds of Show¬rooms, it also organized an exhibition of lighting fixture. Design was made by decorator Victora Kruchinina.
For the first time at Antique Showroom participants, specializing on numismatics and faleristics, were divided into special section. Restorers promoted themselves in a very special way. “Alekseevskoe Podvorye” enterprise offered public unique pieces of furniture, manufactured upon the projects of the most famous Russian artists (E. Polenova, A. Vasnetsov, I. Bilibin, M. Tenisheva) in Abramtsevo, Talashkino and Segiev Posad artisan workshops.
Now about the sensation. It was announced: specialists of the state museums have no right to conduct authenticity expertise of art pieces belonging to private collections. The Federal Culture and Mass Media Supervision Agency had to make that decision because of more frequent sales of forged artworks at auctions.
Everyone can remember reports about various scandals, connected with expertise of works of art, and the most loud of them — with arrest of Preobrajenskie antique dealers. Not to deal with every case individually, officials decided to debar museums the right of expertising. Thereby state structures lose one of the most important income items.
How this decision of the Federal Culture and Mass Media Supervision Agency will reflect on domestic antique market, will be born in short terms. But the most pessimistic forecasts have already been published: market returns to it’s fifteen year old situation.
Debate about museum expertise salted that tardy and elaborate campaign that took place during the last days of October in the Central House of Artists: the Moscow Antique Fair remained the space for intercourse of antique dealers, collectors, experts, art¬dealers, auctioneers and common visitors.
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