Art and Antiques Dubai, a leading art and antiques fair, will showcase a superb selection of historic and contemporary Islamic works of art. 

The show will take place at the Madinat Arena, Madinat Jumeirah from February 21-24.

“There will also be Western art works influenced by Islamic art and culture,” said organisers Brian and Anna Haughton, founders and owners of Haughton International Fairs.

Their view is shared by exhibitors such as Amir Mohtashemi of London, according to whom: “Outstanding quality and demonstrable rarity are the two main components behind current demand for Islamic art and Art and Antiques Dubai, organized by the Haughtons, with their worldwide reputation for putting together five (and now six) of the world’s leading art fairs, will offer examples of the finest works currently available on the international art market. 

Mohtashemi’s area of specialty takes in an exciting mix of Islamic, Indian and colonial antiques and works of art of earlier date, together with Iranian contemporary paintings and sculptures. 

Participating dealers who offer modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art include Waterhouse & Dodd from London, who carry selected examples as well as a more wide-ranging group of European paintings from 1870 onwards. In addition, there is Ayyam Gallery from Damascus, who focus entirely on the art of the Middle East by promoting leading modern and contemporary Syrian artists.

There are also many western artists who have been fascinated by the Middle East and its culture. These include the 19th century Orientalist artists, whose paintings are a speciality of the Mathaf Gallery of London. Mathaf is responsible for putting together the Najd Collection of some 150 Orientalist paintings for a client – a superb collection that features quantities of paintings by some of the leading exponents of “Orientalism”, in particular, Jean-Léon Gérôme and Ludwig Deutsch.

London ceramics dealer, Bazaart, is offering an early 20th century Art Nouveau two-handled vase, from the Cantagalli factory in Rome, its shape heavily influenced by Islamic ceramics and metalwork and its colourful decoration inspired by Ulisse Cantagalli’s travels in Egypt in the early 1900s.  New York dealer Jason Jacques is exhibiting another interesting piece of obvious Islamic form, a Clement Massier vase decorated with Islamic calligraphy, which was produced in France circa 1892.

Bernard Shapero Rare Books from London, the internationally respected dealer in antiquarian and rare books, will be exhibiting a selection of material specific to the Middle East. There are 16th century maps, prints by David Roberts (the highly important 19th century Scottish artist who documented his travels in the Middle East in a famous series of images) and also photographs, among them a late 19th century photograph of a heavily-veiled young Arab woman by the famous Turkish photographer of Syrian origin Pascal Sebah.

Haughton International Fairs are renowned for attracting highly sophisticated audiences to their fairs in New York and London, with the collectors who frequent their fairs the most knowledgeable. Visitors to Art and Antiques Dubai promise to be no exception. –TradeArabia News Service