In With The Old

The Age

Thursday June 13, 2002

Geoff Maslen

Melbourne's antique intelligentsia is preparing to tell its secrets. Geoff Maslen reports.

Roy Williams wants to unmask the mysteries of continental silver to anyone who'll listen. Henry Black's passion is pottery and he can spot the difference between a Staffordshire figure from a fake. He'll let you know the secret, too.

Kathryn Wyatt, on the other hand, knows what to look for when buying antique jewellery, be it Victorian, art nouveau or art deco. "Always get a detailed receipt," she says.

Wyatt, Williams and Black will debunk myths, impart some knowledge and tricks of the trade in a series of workshops as part of Antiques Week, which starts tomorrow.

The Australian Antique Dealers Association organised the educational workshops and the exhibitions under the banner of "Grand Tour", in which 29 dealers from the city to the Dandenongs have come together for the festival as part of the Victorian chapter.

The idea of Grand Tour comes from the 18th and 19th centuries, when aristocratic English families headed to Europe and the Near East. These wealthy tourists purchased works of art, silverware, jewels, marble or bronze copies of statues, then returned to Britain with their riches. Antique Week is based on that theme, and a grand tour through Melbourne's antique shops has been organised with exhibits highlighting particular treasures.

The exhibits include Italian marble sculpture, and a display of 40 cream and milk jugs, together with pails and boats from the 1740s to 1930. Joan McClelland has a display of Chinese porcelain from a private collection in her Collins Street gallery, while a couple of blocks away, Lesley Kehoe offers an intriguing glimpse into how the Japanese contain space in an exhibition titled Empty Vessels.

At Acorn Antiques in Armadale, an exhibition titled Discs and Desks includes a selection of antique desks and four Wurlitzer juke boxes. Visitors can play Bing Crosby and other crooners from the 1940s while they stroll around the exhibition.

Some exhibits are practical too. For example, at Westbury Antiques in East Melbourne, their exhibition called Living with Antiques is one of furniture and items displayed in a home environment.

As you'd expect from From Here to Antiquity at Graham Geddes Antiques in Armadale, the exhibition is of Greek and Roman sculpture, mosaics and vases from 1000BC to 500AD.

The educational workshops - with lectures, group discussions and hands-on experience - will be run at the dealers' premises, and range from the wonders of Staffordshire plates to investing in Aboriginal art.

Williams says, ``I'm hoping to destroy some of the misconceptions people have about British silver. Beliefs such as the English hallmarking system is the most accurate, when it isn't; or that the English sterling standard is the highest available. It isn't. The French is higher."

He will also talk about examples of European silver and show a few fakes to reveal how hallmarks do not prove a piece is authentic.

``The fake is always going to have a fabulous set of hallmarks, whereas the real thing will have ones that are smudged," he says. ``You start to get the hang of it after the first 25 years, but I'll be giving a few pointers as to what a novice might do."

Kathryn Wyatt is president of the Victorian division of the Gemological Association and her workshop will highlight important aspects of antique jewellery to consider before a purchase such as condition and quality.

``If the person claims the piece has natural stones, have that put down (on a receipt) because a lot of early jewellery used synthetic stones," she says. ``People don't realise how early synthetics started, while paste or glass was used from Georgian times."

Ceramics historian Harry Blackman is running two workshops - one on Staffordshire plates and the other on Staffordshire figures. He intends to demonstrate that much of the work produced at the potteries was original and not, as critics have long claimed, simply copies of Derby, Chelsea or Bow figures

``Staffordshire figures are much maligned and it's often said that Staffordshire figures were the result of downright plagiarism, but there is great deal of evidence to show the models that came out of the potteries were original," Blackman says.

John Furphy, president of the Victorian branch of the AADA, says the Grand Tour is to show people just how rich Melbourne is with its repository of antiques and art works. Rather than the traditional antiques fair, dealers felt that exhibitions based on themes would allow the public to see a wider range of works. Victorian Arts Minister Mary Delahunty, who will launch Grand Tour, says it's a stunning way to introduce a week of history.

``It's often said that antiques belong to Europe, but I don't share that view," Delahunty says. ``Australia is now old enough to have its own sense of history - not only indigenous history that goes back thousands of years - but European history. History that combines superb, locally made furniture, silver, jewellery as well as the wonderful pieces that were imported here."

For information about the workshops, which are limited to 20 people and cost $55 each, and the exhibition, contact Keren Lewis on 9576 2275 or see www.aada.org.au

The Age is a sponsor of Antiques Week.