Events & Online Exhibitions

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Romantic inspiration from the Cotswolds

Roses’ by Bryan Kneale MBE RA, oil on canvas, 1959, POA from Architectural Heritage.

Pair of antique toasting glasses, £2,200 from Mayflower Antiques

'Claudine and the Red Rose’ by Marcel Dyf, oil on canvas POA from Trinity House Paintings

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, members of The Cotswold Art & Antique Dealers’ Association (CADA) have been coming up with very different ideas on how to celebrate February’s theme of LOVE, which will be shared on Instagram @cadartandantiquesassociation.

Bunches of fresh flowers, often roses, make their way to loved ones on Valentine’s Day. Why not say it with flowers in a lasting way? Trinity House Paintings has Floral Still Life, an oil on canvas by Mary Fedden (1915-2012), dated 1946;

a pair of interior scenes with a young woman being offered flowers by her suitor by Jean-Simon Fournier 1794

or Claudine and the Red Rose by French artist Marcel Dyf (1899-1985).

Haynes Fine Art offers Flirtation, an oil on panel by Alfonso Savini (Italian, 1836-1908), £7,650.

You can’t go wrong with Roses, the oil on canvas by Modern British artist Bryan Kneale MBE RA (born 1930), POA from Architectural Heritage.

Valentine’s Day is also a time for proposals. Having spent so much time in lockdown, couples realise how important they are to each other and some may plan to make it more permanent. Of course, 14th February is traditionally known as the day that women can propose to men, but it works both ways. CADA members can come up with several ways to help just celebrate loving someone and showing appreciation at this time of year.

An unusual way to propose might be to pop the question with Haynes Fine Art’s The Proposal, oil on panel by Belgian artist Florent Willems (1823-1905), £80,000. Alternatively, English pottery specialist John Howard, whose 19th century Staffordshire pottery bocage group in pearlware and coloured glazes, Persuasion, circa 1810-1820, is attributed to the Patriot Group, £2,950. The slightly shy female figure is rather contentedly thinking about the fair offer her partner has made as he proffers a gold ring. A somewhat whimsical dog looks adoringly and coyly at his mistress, almost imploring her to say “yes”.

For the tea lover, a Regency sycamore tea caddy with naïve prints of Venus, goddess of love and beauty, with her son Cupid, £2,650 from Freshfords Fine Antiques could be a romantic choice, or from Mark Goodger Antiques comes a very rare ivory octagonal tented top tea caddy with faceted cut steel decoration and tortoiseshell edging. Behind cut steel framed glass is a painted plaque of a young courting couple, circa 1795.

Legge Carpets Ltd has a wool and silk hand woven Flemish tapestry fragment dating to about 1600, the centre cartouche depicting a couple going for a stroll in an idyllic scene in the countryside, £1,250. With the home playing such a significant part in our lockdown lives, a splash of the colour of passion could be an option like a pair of Regency mahogany and brass library chairs with shaped scrolled barrel backs in smart red leather, attributed to Gillows of Lancaster, circa 1815, £17,500 that could add a little pzazz, or even a pair of Chippendale period mahogany chairs with red upholstery and leaf carved pierced backs and corner brackets, circa 1760, £2,450 both from W.R. Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd.

A Flemish tapestry fragment (detail) c.1600, £1,250 from Legge Carpets Ltd

A pair of Regency mahogany and brass library armchairs, attributed to Gillows of Lancaster, c.1815 £17,500 from W.R. Harvey & Co (Antiques) Ltd

Persuasion’ Staffordshire pottery bocage figure group, attributed to the ‘Patriot Group’, c.1810-1820 £2,950 from John Howard

Thinking even further out of the box, a George III brass bound mahogany oval oyster bucket full of the delicacy, circa 1780, could set the scene, £1,500 (oysters not included).

Oyster buckets were a feature of Georgian London when street vendors abounded and these receptacles would have graced the best homes in the country and can now be used as ice buckets for champagne and wine.

As music is the food of love, a pretty George III period oak and mahogany duet stand, circa 1800, £2,250 could be considered for a traditional musical twosome, also from W.R. Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd.

Don’t forget the candles with a fine pair of Baroque silver candlesticks for romantic meals, £18,000 or drink to the future with a pair of antique toasting glasses, £2,200 from Mayflower Antiques.

Flirtation’ by Alfonso Savini oil on panel, £7,650 from Haynes Fine Art

A fine pair of Baroque silver candlesticks, £18,000 from Mayflower Antiques

Regency sycamore tea caddy with naïve prints of Venus and Cupid, c.1790-1800 £2,650 from Freshfords Fine Antiques

George III brass bound mahogany oval oyster bucket c.1780 £1,500 from W.R. Harvey & Co. (Antiques) Ltd

Although in lockdown, the romance doesn’t need to be missing this February. Cotswold art and antiques dealers are still available to talk on the telephone and communicate by email. Check out the website at www.thecada.org to discover more and follow @cotswoldartandantiquedealers on Instagram for more ardent inspiration.