After the Maastricht European fine art fair Lewis Smith, director of the Chancery Lane silver dealers Koopman Rare Art, had a problem that many might envy: “There has been considerable interest in all our specialist areas, notably fine antique silver masterpieces and top quality gold boxes. The number of sales far exceeded those achieved at [the fair] Tefaf last year. We now have a challenge to replace objects of this superb level of quality and provenance.” A few of years ago in the wake of the 2008 market collapse such a statement would have been inconceivable to most people. There was little interest in antique silver, and SJ Phillips, the doyen of the trade which celebrates 150 years in business next year, moved from its
Koopman Rare Art sold so many of its best silver antiques at TEFAF Maastricht this year that it's finding it hard to replace them all, signalling a return for pieces made from the precious metal following a tough period following the financial crisis. The market suffered in recent years as the price of silver as a commodity meant that some lower-quality pieces were more valuable once melted down. The items sold by Koopman's at TEFAF are unlikely to face the same fate - a set of four George II silver-gilt candlesticks made by William Kent to the design of Paul Crespin sold for £450,000, while a mid 18th-century French gold box fetched £440,000.