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​Dr. Reinier Baarsen, renowned senior curator of furniture at the acclaimed Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, is keynote speaker and co-chair of the 53rd Annual Delaware Antiques Show from Nov. 11–13 at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. Celebrated as one of the most highly acclaimed antiques shows in the nation, the three-day event features the finest offerings from more than 60 distinguished dealers representing the best of American antiques and decorative arts.
“It is a privilege to welcome the distinguished scholar Dr. Reinier Baarsen,” says J. Thomas Savage, director of museum affairs at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, organizer of the show. “Dr. Baarsen’s insights will add rich dimension to our understanding of European decorative arts and offer immeasurable inspiration and guidance to everyone interested in antiques, from the experienced connoisseur to the novice.” Recipient of the prestigious European Museum of the Year Award in 2015 by the European Museum Forum, the Rijksmuseum houses one of the most important international collections of furniture in the world. Described by European Museum Forum as “a great museum, at the height of its powers, providing a rich experience to the public,” the Rijksmuseum was founded in 1800. After undergoing nearly a decade of renovations, it reopened to the public in 2013 with the goal to “reach every child in the Netherlands by the age of 12” among its ambitions.
Baarsen is the author of the scholarly and eminently readable “Paris, 1650–1900: Decorative Arts in the Rijksmuseum.” He earned his doctorate in art history from Leiden University in 1993. He has worked at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and as a consultant at the J.Paul Getty Museum in Malibu. Baarsen has served as Curator of Silver and Gold and head of the Department of Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Rijksmuseum. Baarsen will reveal the extraordinary collection of European decorative arts under his care in his keynote lecture, “Amsterdam Splendor: European Decorative Arts in the New Rijksmuseum,” on Nov. 11, at 10 a.m.
“We are delighted Dr. Baarsen will so magnificently open the Delaware Antiques Show, a widely anticipated, enthusiastically attended event. We have remarkable new additions to our dealers this year, including Lillian Nassau, who specializes in works from Tiffany Studios; Martyn Edgell, coming from England with stunning early English ceramics; David Schorsch, with fabulous American folk art; plus James Lowery and Hilary and Paulette Nolan, with American furniture and quilts, to name a few,” says Diana Bittel, manager of the Delaware Antiques Show. “They join our venerated stable of loyal dealers such as James M. Kilvington, Inc., Sumpter Priddy, III, Inc., Leatherwood Antiques, The Philadelphia Print Shop, Barbara Israel Garden Antiques, and many others showcasing their antiques to the delight of treasure-hunting visitors.”
Celebrate the opening of the Delaware Antiques Show with friends, cocktails, and exclusive early shopping at the opening night party Nov. 10, 5–9 pm, at the Chase Center. The show will be open all weekend with exceptional shopping and food and beverages available for purchase. Additional show co-chairs are Governor Jack Markell, First Lady Carla Markell and Margaret Beck Pritchard, deputy chief curator for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
A full schedule of show features includes lectures during the weekend and the special exhibit “Meanderings: A Photographic Exploration of Winterthur as Seen Through the Lens of Natale Caccamo.” General admission tickets, valid for all three days, are on sale now. They include all special lectures Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets to the opening night party are sold separately. For more information or to purchase tickets online, email das@winterthur.org, visit winterthur.org/das, or call 800.448.3883.
