The European Fine Art Fair
The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) is an art fair in Maastricht (Netherlands). Organizer is The European Fine Art Foundation .
TEFAF is one of the most important art fairs worldwide. The ten-day fair takes place every spring in Maastricht in the MECC convention center . Almost all of the world's major galleries and art dealers are represented in the list of around 240 exhibitors. According to the company, it is the world's largest art and antiques fair. Each exhibit is checked for authenticity and quality by around 20 expert committees with around 190 renowned art experts from all over the world.
The fair is divided into the following specialist areas:
- Paintings, drawings and prints
- Antiques and works of art (including sculptures)
- Utensils and furniture
- Classic antiques and ancient Egyptian art objects
- Manuscripts, rare books and maps
- Jewellery
- Modern art
TEFAF has been the main sponsor of the Maastricht Museum aan het Vrijthof since 2011 .
Securing the anchor ax of King Schulgi
In 2005, the Federal Criminal Police Office discovered an anchor ax belonging to King Schulgi at the TEFAF , who lived from 2094 to 2047 BC. Ruled in the city of Ur in what is now Iraq . The work of art is of great national importance to Iraq and could not have left the country legally. That is why Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier handed it over to the then Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in 2009 .
gallery
Painting by José de Ribera , TEFAF 2010
Stand of a Parisian art dealer, TEFAF 2011
Antique Buddha head, TEFAF 2011
Medieval ivory, TEFAF 2011
Painting by Neri di Bicci , TEFAF 2014
TEFAF 2019
.jpg)
.jpg)
Web links
- Official website (English)
- MECC website (Dutch, German, English, French)
Individual evidence
- ^ Günther Wessel : The dirty business with antiquity. The global trade in illegal cultural goods , Berlin 2015, p. 156f. and Barbara Weber: Cultural assets in danger , article available online on the Deutschlandfunk website , published on December 18, 2014