David Moss reports that Masterpiece London has a full compliment of luxury goods dealers for its inaugural show, running from its preview night on 23 June through 29 June. This fair, organized by a number of the leading lights of the late, lamented Grosvenor House, should be an improvement in a number of ways, most notably with the huge marquee at the Chelsea Barracks venue dwarfing the cramped space of the Grosvenor House grand ballroom. This sounds sort of a simple thing, but I find that nearer to Knightsbridge a good thing, too, with the fair a short stroll down Sloan Street from Harvey Nichols, or a hop and skip from the Sloan Square tube station.
Despite a number of familiar names, the overall juxtaposition will be a profound change from Grosvenor House, with the theme of the fair luxury goods. Jewelry and the best in new bespoke items will be on offer, mixed in with fine period decorative arts. Heavily mixed in, I should say, as the overwhelming furniture component that was the mainstay of Grosvenor House will not give way, exactly, but certainly make room for a broader selection of material. This makes considerable sense, to my mind, as a new look with a different range will doubtless attract a different type of buyer, and hopefully more of all types.
Mind you, the changed fair, while it attracts new buyers, might run the risk of running off traditional punters looking forward to seeing, albeit different pieces, something typologically similar from year to year. Perhaps, but, frankly, with the bright new look of the fair, I suspect that attendance will be strong if for no other reason that the fair is brand new. Once in, though, with a vision of how brilliantly the new venue promises to showcase all types of material from all periods, whether an early 18th century walnut bureau or a 1960’s Cartier sparkler, the Masterpiece fair will be assured success.