As guest of honour at the Brussels Antiques & Fine Art Fair (BRAFA 2011), Museum Mayer van den Bergh will, as a rare exception, exhibit some twenty works of art outside of its own walls. The selection was made to reflect the rich variety of the collection. In addition to an intimately painted The Adoration of the Shepherds by Jacob Jordaens and an antiquities-styled Maria-Magdalena by Jan Gossaert, the life-size portraits of the Vekemans family are real eyecatchers, a unique series of five portraits of a wealthy Antwerp businessman, his wife and three of his four children. The series was painted around 1624 by famed portrait painter Cornelis de Vos.

From the extensive collection of sculptures ranging from the twelfth to the eighteenth century, a fourteenth-century marble angel from a French atelier was chosen, two beautiful oak-wood angels from the entourage of Rogier van der Weyden and two adorable putti by eighteenth-century sculptor Walter Pompe.

In addition to drawings and prints, the museum also owns a rich collection of applied arts objects: fine silverware and goldsmith’s work, wall tapestries, lace, ceramics, porcelain, coins and medals, antique statues, illuminated manuscripts. Three shining examples from this collection, a Byzantine plaquette, a thirteenth-century bronze evangelist and a very well preserved fifteenth-century Christmas manger, will be shown at BRAFA.

This small selection of the grand collection is intended as an inspiring exhibit to elicit visits to the Museum Mayer van den Bergh where many more excellent pieces are waiting for you.

Facts about the Brussels Antiques & Fine Art Fair:

Organisation

Foire des Antiquaires de Belgique asbl

Tour & Taxis | Avenue du Port 86 C Boîte 2 A | B – 1000 Brussels

Venue                  

Tour & Taxis | Avenue du Port 86 C | B - 1000 Brussels.

Tour & Taxis is located in the heart of Brussels and is a wonderful example of the Belgian industrial heritage dating from the 20th century. Exhibition space: 12 315 m²

Dates and opening hours

From 21 to 30 January 2011 from 11am to 7pm

Late night openings on Tuesday 25 and Thursday 27 January 2011 until 10.30pm

  Entrance fee

Individual: € 20 | Groupes (≥ 10 pers.): € 10 per person |≤ 26 year: € 10 |≤ 12 year: free

Guided tours

Daily at 3 pm

  Parking

A supervised parking on the Tour & Taxis site itself: 5 €

Free shuttle service offered by AUDI

Exhibitors

130 participants from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great-Britain, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Monaco, Portugal, Spain, USA and Switzerland

  Specialities

Antiquities, Oceanic art, African art, Oriental art, silver, antique jewellery, furniture and works of art from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, curiosities, ceramics, earthenware and porcelain, drawings, engravings, old masters, modern painting, sculpture, carpets, tapestry, antique and modern books, numismatic, contemporary painting and sculpture, photography.

Number of visitors

38.000 visitors from Belgium and abroad were welcomed in 2010.

Guarantee

Thanks to a rigorous selection done by independent experts quality and authenticity are guaranteed.

Catalogue

The catalogue (600 p.) shows a selection of exhibited objects. This catalogue priced at 10 € is useful for those who wish to obtain more information on the Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts Fair and its exhibiting antiques dealers.

Publicity

Focused towards a Belgian and international public of means and interest in art.

  Services

Restaurant, champagne bars, cloakroom, special access for disabled.

Thalys

Thalys offers promotional rates for exhibitors and visitors to the Fair for travel from Paris (1 h 22 min), Cologne (1 h 47 min), and Amsterdam (1 h 53 min). Benefit from the Thalys preferential rates on your trip. Conditions and reservation modules will be available (www.brafa.be) as from October 2010.

Brussels Airlines

From 10 January till 3 February 2011, Brussels Airlines offers promotional rates to the BRAFA exhibitors and visitors: 25 %* on b.business and b.flex economy+ and 15 %** on b.light economy rates. In order to benefit from this promotion, a promocode has to be used upon making reservation of your flight to Brussels.

Booking via www.brafa.be or www.brusselsairlines.com:

b.business & b.flex economy+             Promocode 1:           11114154

* 25% discount on the price excluding taxes and supplements

b.light economy  

 Promocode 2:               11114162 

** 15% discount on the price excluding taxes and supplements

Offer valid on all bookings made between 1 July 2010 and 31 January 2011 for return trips to Brussels from 10 January till 3 February 2011. Only valid on flights operated by Brussels Airlines.

Turon Travel

For 2011, BRAFA has designated Turon Travel as official partner for the fair. Turon Travel is a travel agency based in New York and is specialised in managing the travel requirements of international arts venues. It offers a booking platform through their website www.turontravel.com and offers special hotel rates and special requirements to exhibitors and visitors of BRAFA.

Tel: +1 212 925 5453 / * BRAFA@turontravel.com

Interior design: Volume Architecture

Nicolas de Liedekerke & Daniel Culot

* plan@volume-archi.be / www.volume-archi.be

Main sponsor: Bank Delen

* info@delen.be / www.delen.be

Hotel: Le Plaza *****

Boulevard Adolphe Max 118-126 / B - 1000 Brussels

Tel: +32 (0)2 278 01 00 – Fax: +32 (0)2 278 01 01

* reservations@leplaza-brussels.be / www.leplaza-brussels.be

Press contact BENELUX & international coordination

Bruno Nélis – MVG Partners
Solwaster 97 A / B-4845 Jalhay
Tel:  +32 (0)476 39 95 79 – Fax: +32 (0)4 365 85 75

* info@mvgpartners.com

Contact

Foire des Antiquaires de Belgique asbl

Tour & Taxis – Entrepôt Royal

Avenue du Port 86 C Boîte 2 A/ B – 1000 Brussels

Tel: +32 (0)2 513 48 31 - Fax: +32 (0)2 502 06 86

* info@brafa.be  / www.brafa.be