The Antique Dealers Fair

The third LAPADA Autumn Antiques & Fine Art Fair races ahead.

The Centaur at Cheltenham Racecourse is the venue for the third year running for the LAPADA Autumn Antiques & Fine Art Fair from Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd October 2006. Close to 60 members of LAPADA, the UK's largest association of professional dealers, will be showcasing their finest works of art in the prestigious setting at Cheltenham Racecourse. The fair is sponsored by Knight Frank.

Works of art available include jewellery, furniture, fine art, art nouveau, art deco, clocks, ceramics, lighting, oriental carpets, sculpture, silver and objects of vertu. The fair offers endless inspiration for interiors, collecting as well as original Christmas presents. Many objects are priced from £400 ranging up to £250,000. The Fair is vetted with no datelines. Everything is for sale with the backing of LAPADA's strict code of practice.

Highlights from around the fair includes a cuff diamond bracelet by Van Cleef & Arpels, circa 1930, for £120,000 from Moira Fine Jewellery; a Louis XV rosewood bureau plat, stamped by Demoulin, cabinet maker to the Prince de Conde, Governor of Burgundy and a cousin of the King, for £80,000 from Hallidays; a silver dinner plate from the Egremont service at £3,500 from Schredds of Portobello; a 19th century crystal chandelier hung in the Chrysler Building in New York since 1930 for £14,800 from Norfolk Decorative Antiques and 'Blue Still Life', oil on canvas, by Mary Fedden, at £10,500 from Jo Bennett Originals.

Of local significance is a silver commemorative tankard awarded to Henry Wilkinson. He was instrumental in saving the lives of a large number of passengers on the 7.30am Great Western Railway train from Cheltenham on 8th July 1851. The train lost 12 of its 23 carriages when they became detached between Stroud and Tetbury! The engraved tankard, made in 1739, is priced at £2,875 from Langfords.

To add variety there are plenty of new exhibitors joining this year's fair including Anthony Woodd Gallery, Guy Dennler Antiques, Jeroen Markies Antiques and M&N Oriental Rugs. Among the well-known names returning include Hallidays, David & Sally March Antiques, Garret & Hurst Sculpture, John Noott Galleries, June & Tony Stone Fine Antique Boxes, F E Anderson & Son, Jeffrey Neal and Wimpole Antiques.

A special feature this year is a working exhibition by the British Antique Furniture Restorers' Association (BAFRA). Visitors to the fair will have the opportunity to watch and talk to the experts at work, demonstrating their wide range of skills including gilding, stone and marble sculpture restoration, marquetry inlay and boulle work, leather conservation and clock restoration. Various free lectures have been arranged with BAFRA for visitors. Verity Spencer will be giving a talk to members of the British Interior Design Association (BIDA), who are holding a regional meeting at the fair.

The LAPADA Autumn Antiques and Fine Art Fair coincides with the last few days of the Cotswolds Antique Dealers Association's in-house exhibitions, making this a key area for hunting for antiques in October.

This year's nominated charity, Macmillan Cancer Support, is organising a free draw at the fair with the star prize being an 1840s inlaid satinwood tea caddy decorated with swags and tails, valued at £1,750.

Opening hours are Thursday 2pm-8pm, Friday 11am-6pm, Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 10am-5pm. Tickets cost £10, including fair catalogue and re-admission. On National Antiques Day, Friday 20th October, admission will be two for the price of one.

A wonderful opportunity not to be missed is a special Antiques Weekend package arranged for Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd October with excellent rates for one or two nights at the exclusive 4 star Macdonald Queen's Hotel in Cheltenham. Visit www.lapadafair.com for more information or telephone 0870 400 8107 quoting LAPADA offer.

For visitor enquiries telephone 01797 252030 or visit: www.lapadafair.com

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