MAASTRICHT.- TEFAF Maastricht, the world’s most influential art and antiques fair, will have a record number of 260 exhibitors from 17 countries when the 23rd edition opens at the MECC (Maastricht Exhibition and Congress Centre) in the southern Netherlands from 12-21 March 2010. The European Fine Art Fair will reinforce its reputation for quality with exhibitors bringing only the very finest art and antiques all of which will be rigorously vetted by teams of experts. It will expand by introducing TEFAF on Paper, a new section devoted entirely to works on paper. The latest in a series of groundbreaking reports specially prepared for TEFAF will examine how the international art market has fared during the economic recession.

Magnificent Works of Art
Exhibitors at TEFAF will show some 30,000 works of art and antiques, including paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, furniture, classical antiquities, illuminated manuscripts, jewellery, textiles, porcelain, glass, silver, design and other works of art. Every era from classical antiquity to the 21st century will be represented.

Among the many works of art for sale at TEFAF will be:

• The Courtenay Compendium, a long-lost collection of historical tracts last seen in the 16th-century which contains the first substantial manuscript relating to the traveller Marco Polo to come onto the market for almost a hundred years. It will be offered for sale by Dr Jörn Günther Rare Books from Switzerland for €2.5 million.

• A rare Tianhuang seal from the Kangxi period (1662-1722) in China. Superbly carved in the form of a crouching lioness, the 5cms high seal with the name of one of the Emperor’s sons inscribed on the side was made by a master craftsman. It will be exhibited by Littleton & Hennessy Asian Art Ltd. of London with an asking price of €550,000.

• A 15th-century domestic altarpiece depicting the Madonna and Child enthroned between saints by Giovanni di Paolo which exemplifies the exquisite late Gothic style in Sienese painting to be exhibited by Moretti Fine Art Ltd. of Florence, London and New York. The price will be €2.2 million.

• A man singing, a magnificent Old Master painting by the 17th century Dutch artist Jan Lievens, who worked alongside Rembrandt, which will be offered for sale for a price in the region of €800,000 by Whitfield Fine Art of London.

• The highly important "Portrait of George Washington" painted in 1822 by the American artist Gilbert Stuart. This picture of the first President of the United States will be brought to TEFAF by first-time exhibitor Hammer Galleries of New York. The price will be €5 million.

• "Untitled XVI", a 1982 work by the Dutch-born painter Willem de Kooning, who became a leading Abstract Expressionist artist in the United States, to be shown by new exhibitor L&M Arts of New York priced at €3.7 million.

• A late 16th-century winged dragon pendant made from gold set with emeralds which was once in the Rothschild Collection and which will be brought to TEFAF by the Spanish dealer Luis Elvira and offered for sale for a price in the region of €100,000.

• A rare Indo-Portuguese silver filigree casket from 17th century Goa which will be exhibited by Kunstkammer Georg Laue from Munich. Only two other similar works by craftsmen from Goa are known, both of them in museums. The price will be €63,000.

• A pair of ormolu-mounted kingwood, sycamore and fruitwood marquetry commodes made in Dresden c1765 probably by a court cabinet maker for a royal apartment. They will be exhibited by Kunsthandel Peter Mühlbauer from Germany and priced at €420,000 for the pair.

Exhibitors at TEFAF
The record number of 260 exhibitors at TEFAF 2010 will include 22 who will be new to the Fair or will be returning having taken part in the past. They will be divided into nine sections, the largest of which will be Antiques and Works of Art with 97 of the world’s best dealers occupying 5,328 square metres of exhibition space. The next biggest are Paintings, Drawings and Prints with 64 exhibitors filling 3,548 square metres and Modern Art with 45 specialists covering 3,208 square metres. Including the Business Pavilion, TEFAF Maastricht will have a total of 15,169 square metres of exhibition space.

TEFAF on Paper
The majority of the first-time exhibitors will be taking part in TEFAF on Paper, a new initiative creating an entire section of the Fair devoted to Old Master and modern drawings, limited edition prints, photography, antiquarian books and manuscripts, Japanese prints and watercolors. A total of 18 dealers will exhibit in the TEFAF on Paper section which will occupy the upstairs hall where TEFAF successfully launched TEFAF Design at the 2009 Fair. TEFAF Design, which proved a huge attraction to visitors to the Fair, will move downstairs.

TEFAF Showcase
In addition to the 254 exhibitors in the main section of the Fair, a further six will take part in TEFAF Showcase. Now in its third year, TEFAF Showcase gives recently established galleries the opportunity to take part in the Fair on a strictly one-off basis and to gain experience of being part of a major international fine art event. It also introduces visitors to TEFAF to some of the most interesting emerging galleries from around the world. The successful applicants for TEFAF Showcase 2010 are Humphrey Butler from London (antique jewellery), Dierk Dierking from Cologne (African art), Pierre-Marie Giraud from Brussels (contemporary ceramics and glass), Nomos of Zurich (coins and medals), Hidde van Seggelen of London (contemporary art) and TEFAF’s first exhibitor from mainland China, Pekin Fine Arts (contemporary Chinese art).

Art Market Report
The latest in a series of important reports commissioned by The European Fine Art Foundation, which organises The European Fine Art Fair, will be published shortly before the the 2010 Fair. Compiled by Dr Clare McAndrew, a leading cultural economist specialising in the fine and decorative art market and founder of Arts Economics, it will review and analyse the key trends in the European art market within an international context. It will look in detail at how the art market has fared during the international economic recession from 2007-2009.

TEFAF Maastricht 2009
TEFAF Maastricht 2009 took place during the most serious economic crisis that the world has seen for decades. Strong sales to private collectors and museums provided firm evidence that the market for high quality works of art remained solid despite the global financial situation.

Art, more than an asset
TEFAF shares its view of art as more than an asset with its principal sponsor, AXA Art. Their partnership provides art collectors with unique expertise covering the full range of risk prevention, conservation, recovery and restoration, so that they can maintain their collections in the best possible condition.