NYBG Antique Garden Furniture Fair

In a busy week of art and design events, another stands out as a must-visit this weekend. The NYBG Antique Garden Furniture Fair is the country’s most renowned venue specifically sourcing garden related art and antiques for the home inside and out. Through this Sunday, May 7th, the New York Botanical Garden will host a wide variety of dealers presenting their unique wares as well as a specialty plant sale featuring an extensive selection from the finest growers. Thursday evening I attended the preview party where I picked out a few items that caught my eye.

Barbara Israel Garden Antiques at the NYBG

Barbara Israel always creates such evocative settings for her collectins of period antiques including the impressive carved marble tiger, above, from England circa 1890.

Balsamo Antiques at the NYBG Antique Garden Furniture Fair

My friends at Balsamo Antiques offer an alluring display for their collection of eclectic European antiques. I was intrigued by these unusually shaped 18th century English staddle stones, below, which were originally used to support and raise granaries off the ground to protect the grain from rodents.

Balsamo Antiques staddle stones

The Hamptons Antique Galleries, here in Connecticut, had a stylish booth anchored by an enormous English garden urn on a classic architectural base.

Hamptons Antique Gallery antique garden furniture

Who wouldn’t want to enter a garden framed by this charming antique hand wrought iron gate from Cottage & Camp?

Cottage & Camp antique garden gate

Many of the pieces offered are as appealing for indoors as out as this set of Italian 1960’s bamboo lounge chairs at Fleur with their sexy swooping shape. The enormous Moravian mirrored star pendant would be a fabulous statement piece in enty or garden room.

Fleur Italian 1960's bamboo lounge chairs at NYBG Antique Garden Furniture Fair

I also liked the deco shape of these early 20th century teak armchairs with Mongolian lambswool cushions from the Chinese port city of Tianjin at the Pagoda Red booth.

Pagoda Red at NYBG Antique Garden Furniture Fair

Owner Betsy Nathan always has a great grouping of Asian antiques, art and accessories.

Pagoda Red at the NYBG Antique Garden Furniture Fair

Garden benches with character are a great addition to any property. Aileen Minor painted this rare pair of 19th century wrought steel settees a perfect shade of go-anywhere green.

19th c. garden benches from Aileen Minor

She is also offering this enchanting tole and tin orange tree on a faux bamboo lattice which could bring the garden in year round.

tole and tin orange tree from Aileen Minor

And Finnegan Gallery presented this rare small cast iron garden seat from 1868 in the Horse Chestnut pattern.

Cast iron garden seat c. 1875 from Finnegan Gallery

A closer detail below.

Finnegan Gallery antique garden bench

There are urns, pots and planters aplenty for every taste and style. Earle Vandekar always has a great selection as evidenced in this charming display, including the large English pearlware blue and white loving cup

Earle Vandekar at the NYBG Antique Garden Furniture Fair

and an unusually bright antique transferware urn with fabulous egg and dart detail.

antique transferware urn at NYBG Antique Garden Furniture Fair

Frances J Purcell has a lovely pair of 1930 bronze footed vases with Bacchanalian scenes. Mounted on ebonized wood bases, they have handy removable bronze liners.

Antique bronze urn from Frances J Purcell

Schorr & Dobinsky unfortunately have no website but if you are in the Hamptons (Bridgehampton) you can visit them to scout their charming antique garden furniture, urns and accessories, below, in person.

Schorr & Dobinsky antique garden antiques

I always find something unique at Leatherwood Antiques‘ selection of unusual objects, like this rustic chic stoneware jardiniere.

Stoneware Jardiniere from Leatherwood Antiques

More and More Antiques had another great version of faux bois with this fun tree trunk planter

Faux bois tree trunk planter from More and More Antiques

and this large decorative French cast iron and enamel cachepot was already sold by the time I arrived at the booth.

French cachepot form More and More Antiques

This charming three level half-round conservatory etagère with array of small clay pots from Red Horse Antiques was reminiscent of something out of Bunny Mellon’s world.

etagere and pots from Red Horse Antiques

There is also a wonderful assortment of fine and decorative art from this C. Jeré metal wall sculpture from David Bell Antiques

C. Jere mixed metal wall sculpture from David Bell Antiques

to this giant wooden hand from Jeffrey Henkel, which I could imagine eliciting a barrage of comments and gestures.

antique wooden hand from Jeffrey Henkel

Withington and Company featured a wide variety of decor including this highly decorative mirror.

Withington and CompanyNature related fine art is a large category with an enormous range of antique prints such as a set of collectible John Gould Hummingbirds at Arader Galleries

John Gould Hummingbirds

to a set of more contemporary looking fern prints at Hudson, NY’s Vincent Mulford Antiques.

Vincent Mulford Antiques

If you live in the NYC area, hightail it over to the Botanical Garden today or tomorrow and don’t miss Design Chair Bronson Van Wyck‘s enchanting center entry, inspired by Manet’s Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe.

Bronson van Wyck entry to the NYBG Antique & Garden Furniture Fair

or the spectacular Dale Chihuly exhibit, his first major garden exhibit in New York in more than ten years!

Dale Chihuly at the NYBG

A detail look at the amazing glasswork below

Chihuly detail

Including more than 20 installations, inside and out,

NYBG Chihuly exhibit

it is a vision both day and night!

Chihuly at the NYBG

all photos by Stacey Bewkes for Quintessence

7 thoughts on “NYBG Antique Garden Furniture Fair

  1. I remember the very first NYBG Garden and Antique Furniture Show, many years back. It was apparent then, with only a few vendors, that it had a great future. And coupling this with the Chihuly exhibit is frosting on the cake!
    Thanks for this report, as I won’t be able to make it down.

  2. S: I’m certifiably insane!!! Seriously!! I have NO idea why I thought it was this Friday???? Call the men in the white suits. I would love to help you with anything!!!!

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