Word’s gone around that Christie’s owner and luxury goods magnate François Pinault will soon shed his interest in the venerable English firm, with the buyer Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani of the Qatari royal family. During his 12 year tenure as owner, M. Pinault has seen some profound ups and downs in the fortunes of the salesroom- mostly downs. The price fixing scandal with Sotheby’s, the experience of huge losses the result of unsold lots the salesroom had guaranteed, and, of course, the downturn in the luxury goods market the last couple of years has doubtless made ownership of Christie’s an expensive proposition.

While not everyone purchases art and antiques from Christie’s at the highest levels, one can’t be either a dealer or a collector or an interior designer without knowledge that, in the last few years, Christie’s has sought to be in effect a retail vendor, as well, through its frequent ‘Interiors’ sales conducted in New York and South Kensington, London. While the material on offer may be less vaunted, the cost to catalog and market even second and third rank material is not. Although Christie’s, and Sotheby’s, too, have sought to cut costs by pruning staff numbers almost in half- and raising buyer’s premiums to upwards of 30% of the hammer price- they nevertheless continue to operate a high overhead, sporadically profitable and sometimes highly unprofitable business in some of the costliest commercial neighborhoods in the world.

It’s interesting, the Sultan of Qatar had commented last week to the Financial Times that Christie’s would be a good adjunct to his own passion for art collecting. That was at least partly M. Pinault’s motivation, as well. Clearly, business sense- or necessity- is now overruling passion. Even for billionaires, there must eventually be a payday.

The 2010 edition of the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show is now a matter of historic fact, and next year’s outing is something, thankfully, that most of the participating dealers are looking forward to.

I say ‘thankfully’, as, at our trade meeting yesterday morning on the show floor, there was a good feeling overall, and precious little grousing. That in itself is unusual when a group of dealers congregate, and I have to say, Keith and I spoke to a number of not only our local colleagues but those we know from far afield, and the mood was overwhelmingly positive. Mind you, sales results were mixed- some dealers did well, some did less well, and some didn’t even open the invoice book. But attendance was good and for those who did not sell, there nevertheless were innumerable conversations with punters of the type that lead one to expect that there will be follow-on business.

And, that’s what’s been lacking in the fairs- not just at show sales, but the attendance of engaged visitors who one feels, if they don’t buy today, will do so when they feel sunnier about things.

So, now that’s over, we can focus on the matter at hand- Go Giants! What? did you think there was anything else going on?

Not unusual for the time of year, dining table interest has spiked. Nothing more personal than a dining table, as style of life- casual or more formal- and décor- traditional or contemporary- and room size- compact or cavernous- often have more to do with what’s wanted than the style of the table itself.

A word to the wise, when you consider purchasing a period table, beware the banded table! An area with contrasting cross banding of either wood or decoration such as brass inlay around the perimeter of the table top is almost invariably a later add on. Surprising how often people inquire about banding, doubtless because they’ve seen a reproduction example with it- or a period example reprehensibly tarted up for sale. New and tarted up is hard to hide. But often banding, albeit not original, can still have some age to it. Again, beware, as cross banding can often mask substantial old repairs, including what so often occurred, the reshaping of a table top, often to associate the top with a new base. Bear in mind, dining tables are working pieces of furniture, and invariably sustain some damage through extensive use. When a table is restored, then and sadly now, sometimes it is thought easier and cheaper to make an alteration rather than to accomplish a proper repair.

We are ready for the first game of the World Series, and so is the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show. Go to tonight’s gala preview at Fort Mason’s Festival Pavilion, and watch the opening game of the series on big screen. Trust me, the bev and nibblies will be better than anywhere else, and what a better 7^th inning stretch of the legs than to browse the show?  Go Giants and good luck to everyone at the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show!



In terms of local San Francisco demography, Giants fans together with those who planned to attend the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show takes in pretty near everybody in town. There may be one or two asleep in doorways along Market Street who are generally indifferent, but I wouldn’t make book on that, either.

Of those handful of people in the western hemisphere who did not watch Brian Wilson throw the final strike in Saturday night’s game, a majority of those few might have been antiques dealers scheduled to participate in the fall show tortured as they were by the prospect of the Giants going to the World Series. As it happens, Game One exactly conflicts with the gala opening of the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show. Will the World Series affect attendance at the gala? Well, what do you think?

Star crossed seems to describe the significant West Coast fairs this year, with the Los Angeles Antiques Show this past April affected by the 7 mile high ash plume of an Icelandic volcano- remember all of this?- that delayed flights by days, and consequently delayed some European dealers and their stock in trade from setting up in time for the gala.  It was a near thing, but in the end, everyone got there, got set up for the balance of the show, and at least one of them- Elliot Lee from London- had a stellar show. As the sportscasters say, perhaps with more color, it isn’t over until it’s over.

So with the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show. No question, strong attendance while not promising a strong show, certainly improves the odds. That said, the World Series will affect most prominently the gala preview- there will still be plenty of non-game time during the succeeding four days of the show’s run for anyone to attend the show that wants to. Anyone can say what they want, but significant sales during the preview are as unusual as Tim Lincecum with short hair. The preview is first and foremost a benefit for the sponsoring charity-  the dealers’ show stands provides an elegant backdrop for what is, ultimately, a party. Mind you, the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show and its benefit charity, Enterprise for High School Students put on to my mind the best of the best when it comes to parties.

Still, the Giants in the World Series is the big news and Keith and I can barely stay seated, excited as we are to watch Game One, planning to close early on Wednesday to get home to watch on TV. For those of my loyal cadre of readers who know how venal we are, this amounts to a rare, albeit ecstatic, level of commitment. And who knows? The Giants aren’t the only team in the series, and we are liberal minded- our galleries, and the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show, will happily welcome Texas Rangers fans.